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\ 


\ 





AND 


The Devil 


PH 1 N EAS 

ITT- Hav^l-f-irv 
u 


\l/ 



BOSTON MDCCCXCI 

LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS 

IO Milk Street next the Old South “Meeting House” 
NEW YORK CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM 
718 and 720 Broadway 


' 






Copyright, 

1890, 

By LEE AND SHEPARD. 


All rights reserved. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 

Ttp laCAroto ■* CojJLA 


Alfred Mudge & Son, Printers, Boston. 


1 - 


&o mg l&ife, 


WHOSE PATIENCE AND CHEERFULNESS, 

IN SICKNESS AND SUFFERING, 

HAVE BEEN TO ME INCENTIVES OF INESTIMABLE VALUE, 

THIS BOOK 

IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED. 


Phineas . 



THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


i. 

J WAS employed as a special writer on . 

I had finished the week’s work, and, lighting 
my pipe, I rose from the desk, and walked across 
the room with a sense of perfect freedom and 
relief, such as all writers doubtless experience at 
the completion of a task that had been reluctantly 
undertaken, when I was surprised and startled by 
hearing my dog bounding up the stairs, howling 
and barking furiously. He threw himself against 
the closed door with great violence. When I 
opened it, he rushed in and crouched in the 
farthest corner. He was a large mastiff, not 
easily frightened, but on this occasion he seemed 
terror-stricken. I walked toward him, and spoke 
encouragingly, but he continued to glare at the 
open door, heedless of my presence. As I turned 
to face the door, a stranger entered slowly, with- 
out the ceremony of knocking. He came on 


8 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


straight toward me. The terrified animal sprang 
up, and slinking as close to the wall as possible, 
made his way toward the door. When within a 
few feet of it, he sprang out, and rushed headlong 
down the stairs. 

I am not superstitious ; but the strange conduct 
of my dog troubled me. Evidently there was 
something about this stranger which filled the 
usually courageous and faithful animal with fear ; 
otherwise he would not have thus deserted me. 
I failed, however, to detect anything remarkable 
in the stranger’s appearance. He was apparently, 
over seventy years of age, of medium height, 
broad-shouldered, and doubtless had been a man 
of great physical strength. But he was no longer 
strong. Old age, or ill usage, or both combined, 
had reduced him to a tottering, trembling wreck. 
His step was unsteady, and he seemed ready to 
fall to the ground with weakness. He stopped in 
the centre of the room, and in a weak voice said, — 

"You write for the newspapers?” 

I nodded in the affirmative, and pointed to a 
chair. Paying no attention to the invitation to 
sit down, he tottered to my desk, and laid an open 
newspaper upon it. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


9 


"To whom am I indebted for this honor?” I 
asked. 

"I’m deaf,” he said. 

In a slow, distinct tone I again asked, "Who — 
are — you ? What — is — your — business — with 
— me?” 

"Read this,” he replied, "and I will then tell 
you who I am, and what I desire.” 

Seeing that I was not disposed to comply with 
his request, he added, "I have something to show 
you, but it is necessary that you first read this.” 

He attempted to point out the article which he 
wished me to read, but his hand trembled vio- 
lently, and his extended finger danced over a half- 
dozen different articles on the page. "It is en- 
titled 'A Mysterious Disappearance,”’ he said, 
vainly endeavoring to hold his finger at the point 
upon which his eyes were fastened. 

The paper was old and soiled. It was dated 
July 5, 1838. 

" Fifty years old ! ” I exclaimed. " The — mys- 
tery — of — that — disappearance — ought — to — 
have — been — solved — long — ago . ” 

" Read ! read ! ” he cried. 

The article in question described how a certain 


10 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


John Curtis and his young wife had left Wood- 
wardtowu, some weeks before, to visit Curtis’s 
parents in Canada. A rumor had reached the 
village to the effect that the couple had mysteri- 
ously disappeared, and the "confirmation of the 
dreadful report had just reached the office of the 
Woodwardtown Lantern .” 

When I finished reading, and looked up, I 
found the stranger’s gaze fixed on my face. It was 
then that I first observed a peculiarity about his 
eyes. They were small and sunken ; the eyelids 
were continually twitching up and down. One 
instant his eyes were closed, and the next wide 
open. His steadiest gaze was merely a succession 
of rapid winks, which disagreeably impressed the 
beholder. 

"I am that John Curtis,” he said. "I have 
been practically out of the world for the past 
fifty years, and have had a wonderful experience. 
This is a true history of what I have seen and 
suffered.” 

He drew from an inside pocket a roll of manu- 
script, and placed it on the desk before me, and 
continued, — 

"You are known to the publishers. You can 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


11 


sell it for me. I ’ll be satisfied with one thousand 
dollars. All over that sum shall be yours.” 

" Publishers — were — evidently — rich — and 
— exceedingly — liberal — in — your — time, Mr. 
Curtis.” 

Without heeding my sarcasm, he proceeded, — 

"I ’ll call at this hour to-morrow for your answer.” 

Then he turned and left the room as unceremo- 
niously as he had entered. 

I was not disposed to forego my usual evening 
walk, but still I thought it well to examine the 
first few pages of the old man’s history ; and 
when I had begun, I found it so interesting that 
it was difficult to leave it. I was fascinated by 
its strangeness. 

When my wife entered, two hours afterwards, 
I was still absorbed in the strange and improbable 
story. I told her of my visitor, and described 
the singular conduct of the dog. 

"The man was crazy,” she said. "I have heard 
that dogs instinctively recognize insane persons.” 

I did not, however, take that view of the mat- 
ter. In fact, I had always found it a safe rule 
to adopt opinions as widely different as possible 
from any which my wife had ever expressed. 


12 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


The old man returned the next day, as he had 
promised. The door was open, and he entered, 
and was at my side before I became aware of his 
presence. 

" Well?” he asked. 

"Your history is not complete”; and then, re- 
membering that he was deaf, I slowly repeated, 
" Your — history — is — not — finished. You — 
do — not — tell — how — you — escaped.” 

He tottered to the nearest chair, and sank into 
it, with a look of mingled fear and horror. He 
remained with his head bowed for several minutes. 
At last he looked up, and asked, "Is it necessary 
that I describe that?” 

"Yes.” 

"Cannot the history be published without it?” 

" I think not.” 

He bowed his head upon his hands again, and 
remained in that position for a long time. Sud- 
denly he arose and approached my desk. He 
was evidently laboring under intense excitement, 
and seemed on the point of speaking ; but he 
checked himself, and, turning abruptly, walked 
towards the door, muttering, " Not to-day ; not 
to-day.” Pausing in the doorway, he turned and 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


13 


faced me, saying, "I will call to-morrow or the 
next day ; but if you do not hear from me by 
the end of the week, the history becomes yours 
to do with it as you please.” He moved slowly 
and stealthily away, and I have never seen nor 
heard from him since that day. 

And now, at the end of twelve months, I feel 
that I have a perfect right to publish the history. 
Indeed, I believe it to be my duty to make it 
public, because such was his wish and inten- 
tion. 

If the said John Curtis be living, and this meets 
his eye, he will confer a favor by calling on me. 
If he is dead, or missing, his heirs or assigns, or 
any of them, by appearing and proving kinship, 
may claim the amount which I have received for 
the history, and which I hold subject to their 
demand. 

Some of my friends advised me not to publish 
this history. They said it would be very unwise 
for me to permit my name to appear in connection 
with such a singularly .improbable story. On the 
contrary, many of our best citizens, to whom I 
have submitted the manuscript, insist that it ought 
to be published. 


14 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


One gentleman, who is a million naire, said that 
he did not consider the story improbable. An- 
other gentleman, who undoubtedly will become a 
millionnaire in a very few years, expressed a simi- 
lar opinion. Two aldermen assured me that they 
believed every word of the story. A gentleman 
who lacked only four hundred votes of being 
elected to the Legislature said that he regarded it 
as a truthful narrative ; and scores of citizens, 
any one of whom lacked at the most but a few 
hundred thousand votes of being elected to the 
Presidency, coincided with the above opinions. 

Supported by this formidable array of distin- 
guished citizens, I have ventured to place the 
history before the public without giving my own 
opinion, simply because I am neither a million- 
naire nor an alderman. My opinion, therefore, is 
not worth the space it would occupy. But not 
wishing to trespass further upon the patience of 
the reader, I herewith submit the history, under 
the title of — 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEViL. 


15 


II. 


ASCENDING MOUNT MISERY. 

My name is John Curtis. I was born and 
reared in St. Catharine’s. Several young men 
of the village and of the surrounding country 
had emigrated to the States, and had sent back 
brightly colored reports of the country. My am- 
bition was aroused by these glowing accounts, 
and at the age of twenty, I, too, crossed the line, 
and travelled southward. I had intended to go as 
far south as Maryland, where I had friends ; but 
I never reached Maryland. At the end of a 
three weeks’ journey, I found myself at the town 
of Wallingford. After having obtained refresh- 
ments, I wandered about the town for an hour or 
more, as I had done at all the other stops during 
the journey. 

When the stage-coach was ready to resume the 
journey, I was pleased to find that I had a fellow- 
passenger. He was a young man, a few years 
older than I. At first he did not seem disposed 
to be sociable. I had been, however, the only 


16 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEYIL. 

passenger in the coach during the two previous 
days, and now that I had a companion, I could 
not repress the inclination to talk. After a few 
general remarks about the weather, the country 
through which we were passing, and the condi- 
tion of the roads, I began, young man like, to talk 
about myself. My companion’s reserve melted 
immediately. He encouraged me to talk about 
myself. We travelled together for six hours, 
during which time I told everything worth telling 
about my affairs, — past, present, and prospective. 
In return he described Woodwardtown, and ad- 
vised me to settle there. His name was Peter 
Marx, and he lived on the outskirts of Wood- 
wardtown, with his six brothers and two sisters. 
None of his brothers or sisters had ever married. 
He was the youngest of the family, and from some 
remarks dropped by him, I inferred that, unlike 
his brothers, he was matrimonially inclined. 

I finally decided to remain in Woodwardtown 
for a few days, and he pressed me to remain at 
his house until I had determined whether I would 
go farther or settle permanently in the village. 

It was four o’clock in the afternoon when the 
stage-coach stopped at the Woodwardtown tavern. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL- 


17 


My first impression of the place was not in its 
favor. It was a small village, scattered widely 
over a flat, featureless country. The few trees in 
sight had been stripped of their leaves by the 
November gales, and they stood up in the after- 
noon sun, gray and withered looking. The one- 
story farm-houses, with their long, low wings and 
out-houses, were of a dull-brown color, and ap- 
peared in the distance cheerless and forbidding. 
The half-dozen narrow, white roads, which radi- 
ated from the tavern, relieved somewhat the gen- 
eral sombreness of the scene. These roads were 
made of oyster-shells, which had long since been 

ground into lime-dust. 

© 

While I was viewing the scene before me, 
Peter had been busy arranging for the disposal of 
our boxes, which he said would be sent for the 
next morning. He now joined me, and explained 
that after we had procured refreshments, he must 
call on a friend, before setting out for home. 
Would £ wait at the tavern until his return? I 
willingly consented. I would, doubtless, be able 
to learn more regarding the village, I thought, 
and perhaps learn something of my new friend 
himself during his absence. I was not surprised 


18 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


because he did not ask me to accompany him. 
His confused manner and flushed face convinced 
me that the "friend” upon whom he was about to 
call was the same young lady of whom he had blush- 
ingly spoken once or twice during the journey. 

Before we reached the tavern door it opened, 
and a man stepped out. He was a tall, broad- 
shouldered, heavily built man, and roughly clad. 
Under a short sack coat he wore a blue jean 
frock, which was much longer than the coat, and 
reached nearly to his knees ; his pantaloons, of 
some gray stuff, were tucked in the tops of his 
heavy cowhide boots. A broad-brimmed white 
hat completed his attire, and brought into strong 
relief his hard, dark face. 

When he emerged from the tavern, he turned 
as if to go to the wagon sheds in the rear. With- 
out stopping, or even slackening his gait, he said, 
gruffly, as he passed us, — 

" Got back ? ” 

"Yes,” answered Peter; and as we entered the 
house, he added, "That is my eldest brother, Ros- 
well. He has his team, and you can ride up to 
the house with him. I’ll follow you, after I’ve 
made my visit.” 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


19 


"But I prefer to wait for you here,” I said. 

"It would suit me better if you would ride up 
with him ; you would get acquainted with him. 
It would save you a long walk ; and, besides,” he 
continued, in a confused, stammering way, while 
his face flushed crimson, "I may be detained 
longer than I expect.” 

I did not like the idea of riding several miles 
with the surly-looking farmer. In fact, I now 
regretted having accepted the invitation to re- 
main at Peters home during my stay in the 
village. But I had gone too far to recede. I 
could not now alter the arrangements without 
giving offence to my new friend. 

When Roswell drove out of the tavern yard, 
fifteen minutes later, we were waiting for him 
near the front entrance. 

"Mr. John Curtis will stay with us for a few 
days, Roswell,” said Peter, as his brother drew 
up close to where we stood. " I have asked him 
to ride home with you.” 

"Well, climb in, John,” the giant said, in a 
harsh tone, as he moved over to make room for 
me on the seat beside him. Before I was fairly 
settled on the seat, he drove off at a sharp trot. 


20 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


I knew that Peter had been absent from home 
for the past two months, yet his brother had not 
asked him how he enjoyed the trip, nor made a 
single inquiry regarding it, which struck me as 
very singular. 

At the end of five minutes or so, I remarked 
about the weather, not knowing what else to say. 
My companion, however, took no notice of the 
remark. The journey occupied a little over 
thirty minutes, and during the time I made two 
or three attempts to converse with the giant, but 
he maintained a rigid silence. He did not even 
turn his head to look in my direction. 

The square box of a wagon rattled along the 
shell road at a furious rate. It was guiltless of 
anything resembling springs, yet my companion 
did not seem conscious of any discomfort, while I 
suffered unspeakable tortures. He finally stopped 
the team near a huge pile of cut firewood, and 
roughly dragging the blanket from my knees, he 
said, in his short, harsh way, — 

" Get down, John, and go in there ! ” 

I hastily dismounted, and he drove down a 
narrow lane, which I concluded led to his barn- 
yard. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


21 


"Go in there,” I repeated. "Did he mean in 
the wood-pile?” 

This immense pile towered above my head, 
reaching higher than any dwelling that I had seen 
near the tavern, or along the road which we had 
just travelled. 

When I walked to the other side of this pile, 
I perceived directly behind it a large one-story 
dwelling. There were, however, no signs of life 
visible. Sounds of voices came from the direc- 
tion of the farm-yard, but all about the house 
seemed as silent as a tomb. 

I approached, and knocked on the door. In a 
few moments it was cautiously opened an inch or 
so, and a woman’s face appeared at the aper- 
ture. 

"Peter Marx asked me to wait for him here,” I 
said, with some embarrassment. 

The woman nodded, and then quickly closed 
and bolted the door. 

I was greatly fatigued, and darkness was fast 
approaching, but still I determined to try and 
find my way back to the tavern. As I turned 
from the inhospitable door, Roswell appeared, 
lie doubtless divined the cause of my perplexity, 


22 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


for there was a faint suspicion of softness in his 
tone, as he said, — 

" Come in, John ; come in ! ” 

He even waited for me, w r ith his face turned to 
the door, and his back toward me. My first 
impulse was to reject the invitation. Then I 
thought of the long, lonely road lying between 
me and the tavern, the nearness of night and my 
exhausted condition, and concluded to remain and 
make the best of it. 

I followed Roswell into the house, and found 
myself in a large, neat kitchen, which, as I after- 
wards discovered, was in no wise different from 
the ordinary Woodwardtown kitchen. There 
were two women in the room busily engaged 
preparing the evening meal. The younger 
woman may not have been over thirty years 
of age, though she looked much older. The 
other was surely fifty years old. They took no 
notice of us when we entered. Roswell drew T a 
chair before the fireplace, and with his white hat 
pulled over his eyes, and his huge, leather- 
colored hands resting on his knees, sat gazing 
silently into the fire. His sisters did not speak 
to him, nor even look at him. And as for me, 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


23 


I was ignored as completely as if I was invis- 
ible. 

Soon afterwards five men entered together, and 
seated themselves in various parts of the room. 
Not a word was uttered by anybody. After a 
time, Roswell turned, and looked at the table, 
without rising from his seat. He appeared to be 
counting the plates. At the end of his calcula- 
tion, he turned to the fire again, and said, — 

"Peter ’s got back.” 

His harsh voice broke the silence with the sud- 
denness of a bell stroke. The younger woman 
placed another plate on the table, for Peter, 
doubtless ; but no further attention was paid to 
Roswell’s remark. 

Shortly after, the elder woman seated herself 
at the table ; her sister joined her ; and then the 
six brothers arose, and took their places at the 
table, also. The meal was eaten in silence. I 
saw Roswell glance once or twice at the vacant 
chair at his elbow, and at last he asked, — 

"Ain’t you hungry, John?” 

"No ; thank you,” I replied. 

When the meal was finished, the men resumed 
their places near the large fireplace, Roswell sit- 
ting, as before, directly in front of the fire. 


24 


'111 E 1JLINI) MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


The women removed the supper things, and 
then sat down to sew at the table, upon which a 
tallow candle flared and flickered erratically. 

The monotonous ticking of the great wooden 
clock, and the snapping and crackling of the 
burning logs that were piled in the fireplace, 
were the only sounds audible. 

I sat in the shadow close to the wall, for an 
hour, watching this singular family, and wonder- 
ing if, when Peter returned, he could be induced 
to procure a team, and convey me back to the 
tavern that night. 

It was nearly eight o’clock when Peter ap- 
peared. He came directly to where I sat, and 
seated himself beside me. None of the others 
took any notice of his entrance. We conversed* 
in subdued tones fo%several minutes ; but when 
I suggested going to the tavern that night, he 
laughed, and rising, he crossed the room, pro- 
cured and lighted a candle, and motioning me 
to follow him, led the way to his bedroom. 

I hesitated a moment in the doorway, before 
leaving the kitchen. I could not leave the silent 
group without a word of parting, as Peter had 
done. I gazed for a moment at the semicircle of 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


25 


rough men, with the firelight chasing shadows 
over their hard features ; and then at the two 
women, rapidly plying their needles, and said, 
" Good night, ladies and gentlemen.” There was 
no response. My own voice sounded strangely 
in my ears, and turning, I joined Peter, who was 
waiting for me in the passage. Once fairly set- 
tled in Peter’s neat, comfortable room, we talked 
freely. 

"You think my brothers and sisters very 
strange, do you not?” he asked. 

I admitted that I did. 

"I have become accustomed to their ways,” he 
said, "and so have the neighbors. We do not 
mind them ; but still, I suppose, they appear to a 
stranger startlingly eccentric. They are, how- 
ever,” he musingly added, "good, kind people at 
bottom. They are strongly attached to me, and 
would willingly make great sacrifices to secure 
my happiness. And yet, as you saw, they paid 
.me no attention on my return, after a long 
journey.” 

"They did not seem to be very demonstrative, 
certainly,” I said. 

From the conversation which followed, it was 


2d the blind men and the ±>eyil. 


plain that Peter regarded his gloomy brothers and 
sisters as being endowed with many virtues and 
graces. I did not take his view. During my 
brief acquaintance I had detected no evidence of 
hidden saintliness. Roswell is the best of them, 
and he is far less saint than savage, I thought ; 
for I did not think it necessary nor advisable to 
confess my opinion to Peter. 


m. 

I slept to a late hour the next morning, and 
was therefore spared the dismal spectacle of 
the family at breakfast. Peter and I breakfasted 
together. Susan waited on the table, while 
Abby was busy with other household duties. 

After breakfast I accompanied Peter to the 
stable. He wished me to see the handsome pair 
of sorrels he had recently purchased. The 
Marxes, as I afterwards learned, had the richest 
and best-stocked farm in that region. 

We rode down to the "Centre” — a term 
applied to that part of the village in which the 


HlE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


27 


post-office, tavern, and stores were located — 
behind the favorite sorrels. 

I had expressed a desire to see the Woodward- 
town Lantern , and we drove to the post-office, in 
which there was a counter devoted to the sale of 
newspapers and stationery. I stood at this coun- 
ter reading the Lantern , and Peter was at the 
delivery window chatting with the postmaster, 
when an old gentleman entered the room. He 
glanced at Peter, whose back was turned, and 
then fixed his gaze on me. After a moment’s 
inspection he advanced, and asked, — 

"Is this Mr. Curtis?” 

I answered in the affirmative. He quickly 
grasped my hand, saying, — 

" I knew your parents. Perhaps you have 
heard them speak of me. My name is Forbes.” 

I assured him that I was delighted to meet him. 
My parents had often spoken of Mr. Forbes, who 
had left St. Catharine’s before I was born. 

"Peter was at our house last night,” he con- 
tinued, "and he informed us that a young man 
named Curtis had arrived in the village from 
St. Catharine’s. We, my wife and I, instantly 
thought of our old friend, and concluded that 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


28 


you must be one of his sons. We said nothing 
to Peter about it ; he does not know that we once 
lived in Canada.” 

Peter had turned from the delivery window, 
and on catching sight of my companion had 
hastily approached. 

” I did not wait for an introduction,” Mr. Forbes 
said, addressing Peter. "I knew Mr. Curtis’s 
family many years ago, and deem it a great 
stroke of good fortune to meet him here.” 

" Y ery fortunate, indeed,” Peter dryly as- 
sented, while his face hardened, until in spite of 
his youth and fairness I detected a strong resem- 
blance to Roswell’s hard features. 

" I have some business to look after this morn- 
ing,” Mr. Forbes said. " I desire our young 
friend to accompany me ; will you surrender him 
to me for the remainder of the day ? ” 

Peter consented, though with some reluctance, 
I thought ; and after a little further conversation 
we parted, Peter going to his team, while Mr. 
Forbes and I walked slowly down the main 
street. 

Mr. Forbes, so far as I could see, had no busi- 
ness on hand, beyond that of persuading me that 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


29 


I ought to settle in the village. He said there 
was a good, lucrative position which I could se- 
cure immediately. Before we parted he had 
obtained this place for me, and had also intro- 
duced me at Mrs. Martin’s select lodgings. 

" Mrs. Forbes would be overjoyed to see you; 
you will give her that pleasure, this evening, will 
you not?” he asked, as he was about to leave me. 

I gratefully accepted the kind invitation. 

"We have tea at six,” he added. "Mrs. 
Forbes will expect you, and you must not dis- 
appoint her.” 

The Forbeses entertained me pleasantly. Mrs. 
Forbes gave me a hearty welcome, and regretted 
that her niece, Alice, was not at home to aid in 
making it pleasant for me. Alice had gone on 
a two days’ visit to a friend, that morning. 

"Which accounts for Peter’s absence,” re- 
marked Mr. Forbes. 

"One would suppose that his absence afforded 
you relief,” said the lady. 

" It does not distress me greatly ” ; and then 
turning to me, he continued : " My good wife 
once knew a woman who had two sons. This 
woman was selfish, crafty, and covetous. One 


so 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


of her sons grew up with his mother’s faults 
developed and intensified. He was a selfish, in- 
human monster. The other grew up frank, hon- 
est, and unselfish to a fault. With this in mind 
she believes that she can transform Peter into 
something superior to his brothers. I believe 
she has undertaken an impossible task. He is 
a Marx to the backbone. It is in his blood.” 

"I am a victim of misrepresentation, Mr. 
Curtis,” the lady said ; " I simply wish to give 
Peter the advantages of good company. His 
surroundings at home are brutalizing. His peo- 
ple are less than human. You have no idea of 
the sort of a life they lead.” 

" You forget, my dear, that Mr. Curtis was 
their guest last night.” 

The lady laid down her knife and fork and 
stared at me in open-eyed astonishment. 

"You remained there over night, and was not 
frozen ! ” she exclaimed. 

"I did not suffer from the cold in the least,” 
I answered. 

The lady bent over her plate ; and I knew that 
she was smiling at my stupidity. Her husband 
came to my rescue by asking, — 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


31 


" How do you like Parsons, Mr. Curtis? ” 

" He oppresses me,” I replied. 

"Oh, that will wear away when you know 
him better !” 

" It does not in my case,” said his wife. " I al- 
ways find him on a very high stool, or on stilts 
which are yet higher.” 

"He is an able man, Mrs. Forbes ; the Lantern 
is the best conducted paper in the State.” 

Turning to me he continued, — 

"He asked you to write an account of your 
journey from Canada. You will do -so, I sup- 
pose.” 

"I have done it.” 

"Did he like it?” 

"I think not.” 

" Why do you think so ? ” 

"Because after reading it he walked to the 
window, and after standing there a few minutes, 
he called me. A farmer had stopped to exhibit 
his vegetables to a shopkeeper. Other shop- 
keepers approached, and began to bid at once. 
The result was that the farmer sold his load 
quickly, and at a good price. Then Mr. Par- 
sons turned and said, ' How would it have been 


32 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


if that farmer conveyed his vegetables in an un- 
commonly elegant or grotesque vehicle ? ’ ” 

" ' The shopkeepers would probably have wasted 
some time inspecting the strange wagon,’ I 
answered. 

"'Very good,’ he said. 'Now, remember, that 
words are the vehicles which convey thoughts. 
If the words are uncommonly elegant or gro- 
tesque, the reader’s attention is diverted from the 
thought to the vehicle, which is not desirable.’” 

" Ah, he thought you too elegant.” 

" I imagine he considered me pedantic.” 

"I believe,” Mrs. Forbes said, with some, 
warmth, "that he is wrong. Our writers are 
not too elegant ; they err in the other direction.” 

During the months that followed I was a fre- 
quent and wxlcome visitor at the Forbeses. In 
my position as man-of-all-work about the Lantern 
office I came in contact with many people, and 
made many warm friends. The Forbeses, how- 
ever, always held the first place with me. 

Peter Marx w T as at the Forbeses constantly. 
He and I were not on friendly terms. The cool- 
ness which he had shown toward me, when he first 
found Mr, Forbes and me together, grew more 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


33 


marked every day. My friends told me — and 
it was easy to see that they were right — that my 
intimacy with the Forbeses was very displeasing 
to him. He was deeply in love with their niece, 
and became insanely jealous whenever any one 
approached her. But his presence did not detract 
from the pleasure of my visits. Mr. Forbes and 
his charming wife took pains to render my visits 
enjoyable. They encouraged me to talk about 
St. Catharine’s, and the older people whom they 
had known there. Mr. Forbes himself was an 
inveterate story teller; but he never would 
engage in an argument. He detested argument ; 
and, it seemed to me, took a malicious pleasure 
in crushing argumentative people. 

On one occasion he was talking with Lawyer 
Cable, regarding the relative merits of the rival 
newspapers. Mrs. Forbes was relating to me an 
incident which occurred when she lived in Canada, 
when our attention was attracted by the vehe- 
mence of the lawyer’s conversation. "Sensa- 
tional ! ” he cried. " Why, the Rocket is a bright 
paper, and seeks to entertain its readers. Do 
you mean to say that the Lantern is as good as 
the Rocket?” 


34 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


Before Mr. Forbes could answer, the impetuous 
lawyer repeated the question with greater empha- 
sis. Then the old gentleman slowly said, — 

"I have a very intelligent horse ; and, on a cer- 
tain occasion, I placed a turkey, cooked and 
carved in the best known manner, at one end of 
the manger, and a quart of oats at the other. He 
ate the oats, but never even touched the turkey.” 

Peter seldom took part in our conversation. 
He sat apart with Miss Burr, and seemed 
supremely happy in her company. I knew that 
Mrs. Forbes was glad to give them the privacy 
of the other side of the fireplace. Her husband 
did not appear to trouble himself about the mat- 
ter. If his wife succeeded in bringing out the 
good that was in the young man, and in dwarfing, 
if not obliterating, the traits which had made his 
brothers objects of hate and fear throughout the 
village, Mr. Forbes could complacently claim that 
it was all done with his knowledge and consent ; 
and if she failed, he could wisely assert that he 
had seen from the first what the result would be. 
I suspected, however, that the young lady her- 
self disliked the arrangement. She often asked 
her aunt’s opinion on some trifle which she was 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


35 


discussing with Peter ; at other times she would 
refer the matter to her uncle, and on one or two 
occasions she questioned me regarding the subject 
under debate. It was plain that she desired to 
join us on our side of the fireplace, and partici- 
pate in the general conversation. I heartily sym- 
pathized with her. It was a pity to make of this 
lovely and accomplished girl a sacrifice to her 
aunt’s hobby. The dark, stern young man was 
like wax in Alice’s hands, and Mrs. Forbes hoped, 
with the girl’s aid, to save him from his heredi- 
tary sins, and transform him into an ordinarily 
decent sinner. But even to accomplish that, was 
it worth while to destroy an angel? The angel 
herself rebelled against it ; and I unhesitatingly 
joined the rebellion. No word was ever spoken 
on the subject by either of us. There was, how- 
ever, a tacit understanding between us. We 
were co-conspirators struggling against a pow- 
erful conspiracy. The others misjudged me. 
There might have been an element of selfish- 
ness in my motives ; there is an element of 
selfishness in the motives of most men who seek 
to render a service to their kind. I flattered my- 
self, though, that I was wholly unselfish in the 


36 


THE BLIND HEN AND THE DEYIL. 


matter. The others gave me credit for no motive 
beyond that of wishing to enter the lists as a 
rival to Peter. But so long as Alice did not take 
that view, I was not troubled by what the others 
believed. Things went on smoothly enough for 
several weeks ; but the inevitable explosion, 
which we all dreaded, came at last. 

I sat with the old gentleman listening to one of 
his characteristic stories ; Mrs. Forbes sat near 
us, but her attention was divided between us and 
the young couple on the other side of the huge 
fireplace. Miss Burr, from her low chair, was 
watching Peter, who was leaning against the man- 
tel. They were earnestly discussing some ques- 
tion, but their words were inaudible to me. Alice 
Turned suddenly and caught my gaze. 

"Mr. Curtis,” she asked, "what do you think 
of the Eowe tragedy ? ” 

" A horrible affair,” I answered. 

" Mr. Marx has labored to persuade me that if 
Rowe had loved his wife less his jealousy would 
never have driven him to commit the dreadful 
crime ; that one’s jealousy, when aroused, # is mild 
or intense in exact proportion to the love we bear 
the object.” 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


37 


"I imagine,” I said, "that love produces differ- 
ent effects upon different men. I believe that 
some men are capable of doing very unlovable 
things in love’s name.” 

"Whether my theory is true or false,” Peter 
began, in a constrained, low tone, "you will 
admit that a woman has no right to seek to in- 
flame the jealousy of a man who is devoted to 
her?” 

"But,” said I, "by common report, Mrs. Rowe 
was innocent.” 

"Innocent, doubtless, of any crime; but guilty 
of moving in society to a degree which was dis- 
pleasing to her husband. She knew his jealous 
nature, and knew that he could not change it.” 

"Then why expect the wife to change her na- 
ture? She was fond of society. If he desired 
a gloomy companion, who would be content to 
mope about the house always, why didn’t he 
choose such a one ? ” 

Peter no longer leaned against the mantel. He 
was standing erect, with the fire at his left hand, 
and Alice on the right, and gazing fixedly at me. 
It might have been only the firelight playing on 
his features, but I thought that for an instant 


38 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


he scowled savagely, and that his whole aspect 
was threatening. There was a note of angry 
defiance in my tone, as I added, "I consider it 
unwise, unjust, and cruel to chain an angel in a 
hermit’s cave simply to brighten the hermit’s vol- 
untary solitude.” The words had come in spite 
of me, but I did not regret them. Peter con- 
tinued to gaze at me, without uttering a word 
or moving a muscle. The Marxes were known 
to be men of action rather than words. My 
fellow-rebel sat bolt upright, her face flushed, 
and her eyes flashing upon me a glance of grate- 
ful admiration. Her look plainly said, " At this 
important crisis in the rebellion you have proven 
yourself a worthy ally.” Mrs. Forbes bent over 
her work, visibly agitated. Her husband alone 
remained imperturbable. He had changed the 
conversation, and was proceeding in his kind, 
quiet way, as if nothing had happened. Peter 
soon after took his leave, and I followed him a 
few minutes later. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


39 


IV. 

I was standing near the news counter, in the 
post-office, one evening shortly after, when Peter 
entered. He stood for a while looking in another 
direction, and evidently debating with himself. 
He finally turned, approached me, and said, — 

" Good evening, Curtis.” 

" Good evening, Mr. Marx.” 

There was an awkward pause, after which he 
asked, — 

"Do you intend to discontinue your visits to 
Miss Burr? ” 

"I intend to visit Mr. Forbes and his wife 
until they become heartily tired of me.” Then 
laughingly I added, "I’m on my way there this 
very evening.” 

He stood directly before me, his head slightly 
bowed, his eyes upturned, revealing the whites, 
and his gaze fixed on my face. "That house,” he 
finally said, in a low, fierce tone, " is not large 
enough for you and me. One or the other of us 
must stay away.” 


40 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


" You are not obliged to go there against your 
will, I suppose,” I said coldly. I perceived that 
he was trembling with rage. As he moved away, 
he said in the same low tone, — 

" Remember, I have given you fair warning.” 

" What do you mean, sir?” I cried. "Who are 
you that dares to dictate and then threaten me ? ” 1 

He had reached the door, and passed out with- 
out another word. I had spoken hotly and loudly, 
and my words were distinctly heard in all parts 
of the room. 

The evening mail had arrived a short time be- 
fore, and there were a score or more of the vil- 
lagers in line, each waiting for his turn at the 
delivery window. It was customary with them 
to remain, after the mail had been distributed, 
discussing the news, until the office was closed. 
On this occasion, however, each villager hastened 
away as soon as he obtained his mail ; and when 
I looked up, after finishing the letter, the reading 
of which had been interrupted by Peter, the 
room was empty. 

I detected the postmaster peering at me from 
behind the tier of letter-boxes ; yet, when I ap- 
proached the delivery window for a chat with 


'THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


41 


that official, as I had often done, he was buried 
in an official document that may have been re- 
ceived from Washington some twelve months 
before. 

For several days thereafter it appeared to me 
that many of my acquaintances avoided me. The 
best of them, however, were as friendly as ever. 
I understood the situation perfectly. 

"The Marxes have terrorized the village for 
years,” Mr. Parsons said to me ; " and although 
I do not share the general fear, I would advise 
you to be on your guard. They are accused of 
committing many dark deeds, yet they never 
have been even indicted. The officers of justice 
themselves dare not incur the enmity of those 
savage men.” 

I said nothing about my encounter with Peter 
in the post-office to Mr. Forbes, but he heard 
of it from other sources. Indeed, it was the talk 
of the town for weeks. He assured me that he 
did not believe the Marxes were half so bad as 
they were painted ; but, like Parsons, he advised 
me to be careful. "I know, however, as a fact,” 
he said, " that during the past fifteen years there 
has been no justice of the peace in the village 


42 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


who would dare draw an indictment against any 
of the Marxes. ” 

Peter had ceased to visit at my friend’s house, 
and Mrs. Forbes was therefore prevented, for the 
time being, of continuing the work of reclama- 
tion. If she was angry at me because of my 
share in the matter, she skilfully concealed the 
fact. She was doubtless consoled by the belief 
that Peter would resume his visits after a time. 
He loved her niece, and therefore could not 
remain away for long. 

Peter had disappeared from the village, and did 
not reappear until the following spring. I visited 
the Forbeses regularly, and was always cordially 
welcomed. I perceived, however, a change in 
Alice’s manner. She still treated me with the old 
kindness, but she was often absent when I called, 
and if she did not avoid me, it was certainly 
apparent that she did not welcome me as eagerly 
as she had done when Peter was near. " She does 
not need my aid now,” I thought. "We are no 
longer fellow-conspirators. The conspiracy has 
ceased to exist, because there is nothing now to 
conspire against.” 

As Alice withdrew herself from me, I became 


the Blind Men and the devil. 


43 


conscious of a sense of pain and loneliness. The 
Forbes’ society did not charm me as it formerly 
had done. I was restless and uninterested when- 
ever Alice was absent ; and I at last began to real- 
ize that what I had mistaken for a kindly, unselfish 
interest, was really a much stronger sentiment. 
I had trifled with fire, and the inevitable had be- 
fallen me. 

I was in love ! For several days subsequent 
to this important discovery I remained in a singu- 
larly bewildered state of mind. In the mean time 
I was conscious that Mr. Forbes had a secret 
which he desired to impart to me, but for some 
reason or other hesitated about doing so. I 
afforded several opportunities, but he did not take 
advantage of them. Finally, one evening, late in 
the spring, while we were walking slowly together 
in the direction of his house, he turned on me 
abruptly, and said, — 

"You must look to yourself, young man; your 
interests are suffering. Peter has a warm and 
clever advocate in Mrs. Forbes, while you are 
unrepresented by counsel, and your case suffers 
accordingly. I would interfere in your behalf, if 
it would help you ; but it would not. My inter- 


44 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


ference would do you more harm than good. You 
must plead your own cause ; and, under the cir- 
cumstances, you ought to be an eloquent and 
effective pleader. But you ought to know the line 
of argument which your opponent has adopted. 
She usually begins by drawing a vivid picture of 
the wretchedness Peter suffers, and the danger 
that in his desperation he may do himself harm. 
Then she turns her attention to you. She points 
out that you have entered journalism, and that 
you may develop into a literary man ; and, with 
emphasis, declares that literary men ought not 
to marry. Their wives are always lonely and 
wretched, because, for three quarters of the time, 
the husband is thousands of miles away, living in 
a world of his own creation. Of course I don’t 
believe it. I’m satisfied that literary men, like 
blacksmiths and other Christians, are attached to 
their homes and their friends. I have given you 
a glimpse of the situation ; now I ’ll give you a 
little advice. If you submit your case to the 
judge without argument, I’m satisfied that you’ll 
win. If, however, the opposing counsel is per- 
mitted to continue the argument for months, I 
cannot answer for the result.” 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


45 


A few evenings later, I met Alice in the village, 
and accompanied her home. I had previously 
determined to propound the important question at 
the first opportunity, to " submit my case to the 
judge without argument,” as her uncle had advised. 
I had paced my room the whole night after leav- 
ing him, and had prepared an eloquent little 
speech, more eloquent than rational, I now be- 
lieve, which contained the old pledges of eternal 
love and devotion, that men have been making to 
women from the beginning, and will continue to 
make, I hope, to the end of time. 

But now that I was at her side, this speech was 
of no earthly use. I had lost my hold upon it, 
and it had become hopelessly tangled and twisted. 
A few of the more striking sentences stood out 
clearly from the tangled mass, but by themselves 
they appeared strange, fantastic, and so different 
from our ordinary surroundings and the com- 
monplace talk we maintained that I abandoned 
them altogether. The word was not spoken that 
evening. I spent a sleepless night, and arose 
the next morning ill in body and mind. I wrote 
a note to Mr. Parsons, stating that I could not 
report for duty that day. This I gave to Eddie 


46 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


Martin to deliver for me. Then I walked toward 
the outskirts of the village. I did not heed the 
direction I had taken ; nor had I any clearly 
defined ideas on any subject whatever. I came 
to myself somewhat, though, half an hour later, 
when I found myself in Laurel Lane. Alice and 
I had often walked together here. I reached a 
sharp turn in the lane, and was astonished and 
delighted to see the object of my troubled thoughts 
a few rods distant, and walking leisurely toward 
me. I was at her side before she became aware of 
my presence. 

We moved slowly along together in the direc- 
tion of her home. She was thoughtful and singu- 
larly silent, while I was burning with inward rage 
and self-contempt because of my inability to obtain 
sufficient control over my bewildered thoughts to 
confess my love. 

I had given up in despair when my companion 
suddenly left my side, and springing up the 
grassy bank which skirted the lane, returned a 
moment later with a beautiful wild flower. Her 
hat had been swept from her head by a low-bend- 
ing limb, and the morning sun shone slantingly 
upon her brown hair ; her face was flushed by 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


47 


exertion, her red lips slightly parted, her beauti- 
ful eyes, blue and fathomless as the sky, were 
flashing with pleasure and excitement. Beautiful 
child ! No warning shadow of the dreadful fate 
overhanging her had yet descended to darken her 
young life. 

I bent over to examine the flower; it was a 
delicate thing. The shock it had sustained when 
plucked from its stem had loosened its leaves, 
which were dropping out one by one. The child’s 
face clouded, and her eyes filled with tears. 

" How cruel ! ” she cried. " Why did I not let it 
remain hiding in its shady retreat?” and then, 
impulsively, " But it shall be yours to enjoy while 
its beauty lasts.” 

" Ay ; to cherish and protect long after its 
youthful bloom has faded,” I cried. " Speak, 
dearest; one word will make me blessed.” 


48 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


y. 

I shall write nothing in this history of which I 
entertain any doubts. I cannot, therefore, ven- 
ture to say at what hour we reached the Forbes 
dwelling that morning. It may not have taken 
over an hour, and yet it may have taken us over 
three hours to traverse the distance between 
Laurel Lane and Mr. Forbes’s residence. I know, 
however, that he met us just inside the gate. 
He looked searchingly at us a moment, and then 
quickly looked away. During the walk up the 
lawn toward the house, he glanced here, there, 
and everywhere, but never in our direction ; and 
how he talked ! His strawberry beds were 
ruined ; the weather was against them. The 
weeds exhibited wonderful recuperative powers, 
and, worse than all, the hens had escaped from 
confinement and descended on the garden. The 
havoc they had made was simply dreadful. I 
cleared my throat several times, and at last man- 
aged to say that we desired to see him and Mrs. 
Forbes together concerning an important matter. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


49 


His cheerful manner forsook him immediately, 
and in a slow, grave tone he said, — 

"I warn you, young man, that if you have 
a writ of attachment, and have come here to levy 
upon my property, that I have taken the necessary 
precautions to prevent its removal. If you have 
a lawful and proper claim upon any part of the 
aforesaid property, you may remain here and 
guard the aforesaid part of the aforesaid property ; 
but it cannot be removed, nor any part thereof. 
You may as well understand this, before you 
attempt to serve papers upon Mrs. Forbes.” 

The good lady herself joined her husband in 
wishing us a long life of happiness. She admitted, 
however, that she was a trifle disappointed. For 
a long time she had cherished the hope that 
Alice would one day become Mrs. Marx. She 
had hoped that Alice would be the instrument to 
rescue Peter from his objectionable surroundings. 

"To tell the truth, Mrs. Forbes,” said the old 
gentleman, comfortably settling himself in an 
easy-chair, "you seemed willing to ruin the happi- 
ness of these two excellent young persons in your 
effort to save Peter, who never makes any effort to 
save himself. It reminds me of what I heard of 


50 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


the Rev. Dr. Mills when I was over to the city. 
He labors incessantly among the most fallen and 
hopeless of humanity, — those who do nothing and 
will do nothing to help themselves. He is 
spurred on by the dim hope that out of every 
thousand upon whom he labors he will be able to 
save at least one. He is constantly working 
among them, but has no time to give even an 
encouraging word to the hundreds of manly men 
and brave women whom he meets daily, and who 
are struggling with all their strength to maintain 
themselves in decency ; because — ” 

" Because,” interrupted Mrs. Forbes, " he very 
properly desires to give his valuable services 
where most needed.” 

" Because,” continued her husband, without 
heeding the interruption, "in one case he merely 
gives a helping hand, while in the other case he 
can claim all the glory. If he saves but one of 
the wretches who engage his attention, he can 
point to that one and say, 'That is my work. 
Neither the person reformed nor his Creator had 
any hand in the reformation ; it is wholly and 
solely my work.’ But,” he added, with a wave of 
his hand, " I ’m done ; I ’ll preach no more. These 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


51 


unreasonable young people have asked us to 
appoint the day for them ; and they expect us to 
decide at a moment’s notice that which they are 
utterly unable to decide for themselves. This is 
1838,” he mused ; "1839, then 1840. One year 
would be too short a time, I suppose. Let us say 
the first Monday of June, 1838, which will give 
you just one month in which to prepare.” 

"Oh, uncle!” cried Alice, "that is altogether 
too short a time.” 

"The matter was left to me,” he said, in his 
gravest manner, " and as no formal protest was 
entered previous to the rendering of the decision, 
the decision shall stand.” 

Peter Marx appeared in the village about two 
weeks after the interview just described had taken 
place. I did not see him. One or other of my 
friends saw him every day, and they all seemed 
very uneasy, and apprehensive about my safety. 
I assured them that their fears were groundless ; 
but they shook their heads, and said that I did 
not know the Marxes yet. My well-meaning 
friends were a great annoyance to Mr. Parsons 
about this time. Being an editor, he was, in a 
sense, public property, and it was always proper 


52 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


for any one so disposed to invade his office and 
occupy his time. After a few days, Peter again 
disappeared. My friends became more alarmed 
than ever. "Watch yourself,” they said. "He 
means mischief ; there is no doubt of it.” Even 
the few who attended the wedding breakfast did 
not succeed in concealing their fears on that 
festive occasion. 

On the second evening after our marriage, 
Mrs. Martin, my former landlady, brought me a 
letter. It should have been delivered a week 
before. The postmaster had neglected to deliver 
it when I called at the office. He soon after 
discovered his mistake, and when Mrs. Martin’s 
little girl appeared, an hour later, he sent it ,to 
me by the child. She had forgotten the letter 
before she reached home, and it had remained 
hidden in her pocket until wash-day, when her 
mother discovered it. It was from home, and 
very brief. It stated that my mother was dying, 
and had expressed an earnest desire to see me. 
It was signed "Daniel,” which was my eldest 
brother’s name. Daniel, however, was not in the 
habit of writing letters. He could swing an axe 
with any man within twenty miles of St. Cath- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


53 


arine’s, but he was not handy with, a pen. It had 
been said of him that he would at any time rather 
cut and pile a cord of wood than attempt to write 
a letter, however short. My sister Helen had 
always attended to the family correspondence. 

My wife suggested that Helen might be absent 
from home when the letter was written. 

Mr. Forbes said that he disliked to offer any 
advice. I ought not forget, though, that the let- 
ter had been written four weeks before. It had 
been three weeks on the road, — mails travelled 
slowly in those days, — and another week in Mary 
Martin’s pocket. 

"Supposing that the letter came from your 
people,” said he ; "it is not probable that you can 
reach St. Catharine’s in time to be of any service. 
For my part, I strongly suspect that this is the 
work of an enemy, who wishes to decoy you into 
a trap.” 

I laughed at his fears. I had no enemies. I 
did not regard the Marxes as enemies* Peter 
was doubtless minding his own affairs in some 
other section of the country. His brothers were 
certainly attending to their farm duties, and did not 
seem disposed to interfere with their neighbors. 


54 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


Mr. Forbes called my attention to the fact that, 
if the letter had not been delayed, it would have 
reached me in time to cause the postponement of 
our marriage,* and he suspected that such might 
have been the intention of the writer. 

Mrs. Forbes did not take her husband’s view. 

" Even if Peter entertains a desire for revenge, 
which I doubt, what harm can he accomplish?” 
she asked. 

"With the help of his brothers, he might do 
much harm,” answered Mr. Forbes. 

" His brothers have not acted like persons who 
would be likely to make great sacrifices for any 
one.” 

"It is generally believed in the village,” the old 
gentleman gravely said, "that the Marxes never 
forgive ; that they will follow an enemy to the 
ends of the earth, when revenge is the motive.” 

I turned to my wife, who had been silent dur- 
ing the discussion. 

"I will submit to your judgment,” she said, in 
answer to my look of inquiry. 

I decided to make the journey, and Alice de- 
clared that she would accompany me. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


55 


VI. 

Immediately after dinner, the following day, 
we drove over to the tavern, in the substantial 
two-seated family carriage. I sat with Mr. Forbes 
in front ; my wife and Mrs. Forbes occupied the 
rear seat. W e reached the tavern shortly before two 
o’clock, and just fifteen minutes before the arrival 
of the stage. A large number of our friends had 
gathered at the tavern to wish us a safe journey. 
This surprised us. On the previous evening, we 
had agreed to say nothing about the letter to any 
person. Mrs. Martin was the only person, out- 
side of our family circle, who knew its contents, 
and she was not considered a story-carrier. Her 
friends said that she never carried a story, but 
gave it to the first person whom she met ; and, 
short as the time had been, it was already known 
throughout the village that I had been summoned 
to the bedside of my dying mother. 

After saying good by to our friends, and hav- 
ing taken an affectionate leave of the Forbeses, 
we entered the stage and began the journey. 


56 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


Nothing of importance occurred during the first 
ten days of the journey. Late in the afternoon 
of the tenth day the stage stopped at a tavern, 
which was larger and more pretentious than any 
of the other road-houses at which we had put up. 

An old gentleman, with his wife and daughter, 
had been our fellow-passengers during the last 
two days, but they were now at the end of their 
journey. They informed us that we would get a 
long rest at this place. The next stage would 
leave at ten o’clock the following morning, and 
would reach the Canadian border before sunset. 

After breakfast, next morning, I set out for a 
short walk. I perceived that we were in the 
heart of a thriving farming district. Red farm- 
houses were scattered about in all directions, as 
far as the eye could reach. 

It was the middle of June, but still the morn- 
ing air chilled me, and I soon returned to the 
tavern, and entered the bar-room. There were 
two men at the bar, drinking. One of them 
carried a heavy coat on his arm and a whip in his 
hand. He was the stage-driver, apparently. He 
looked sharply at me when I entered, and once 
or twice afterwards, while I stood talking with 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


57 


the landlord, I detected him watching me in- 
tently. He turned away quickly, whenever I 
looked in his direction. 

The conversation of the two men disclosed that 
the one with the coat and whip was a new driver, 
whom his companion, the regular driver, had been 
" breaking in.” The new man was evidently very 
anxious to try it alone. 

"If I can’t take her through now, after a 
week’s practice, I might as well give up the idea 
of ever being a stage-driver,” he said. 

"Oh, you’ll get through easy enough!” the 
other said ; " and then you ’ll be a stage-driver, 
eh?” 

"Yes ; if I reach Nettleton’s all right, I’ll con- 
sider myself a driver.” 

The expert laughed boisterously, and laying 
his hand patronizingly on the novice’s shoulder, 
said, "You’ll never be a driver until you can 
drive four horses, swing your whip, handle the 
brake, hold an umbrella, and smoke a cigar, all 
at one time, and still have one hand loose to 
shake at the girls in the farm-houses.” 

I saw that the new driver paid for all the 
drinks, and while he drank very little himself, 


58 


'the blind Men and the devil. 


he appeared desirous that the other should drink 
freely, and the other seemed willing to comply. 

I soon after went up-stairs to join Alice, who 
was busy preparing to resume the journey. 

The stage started at ten o’clock, with the new 
driver in charge. We rattled along for an hour 
at a lively gait. At the end of that time, the 
driver had trouble with his horses. He endeav- 
ored to turn them to the right, into what appeared 
to be nothing more than a lane, but they seemed 
unwilling to leave the main road. He cracked his 
whip and shouted to the animals, and after a time 
obtained the mastery. We tore through the nar- 
row lane at a furious pace. 

The forest on both sides was dense and dark, 
and crowded close upon us, the longer branches 
often sweeping the roof and sides of the stage. 

I conjectured that, being a new driver, he 
desired to make the best time possible, and that 
this lane was a short cut to the next road-house. 

At the end of fifteen or twenty minutes he 
pulled his horses down to a walk, and sounded 
three long blasts with his horn. 

"Ah ha!” I thought, "he is not sure of the 
road, and blows his horn in the hope of attracting 


'ITIE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


59 


some person, who can direct him aright. But 
how can he expect to be answered in this wild 
and apparently uninhabited region?” 

He sounded the horn again, and it was an- 
swered. Or was it an echo? He stopped 
abruptly, and cried out, "Somebody hurt, sir, 
and calling for help ! ” 

"Then, why don’t you go to their assistance?” 

I exclaimed, opening the door and springing to 
the ground. 

"Because I can’t leave the horses, sir.” 

"Help ! help ! In Heaven’s name come quickly ! , 
I’m dying ! I’m dying !” came in a voice of agony 
from the thicket. It was a woman’s voice, and 
the sufferer was not far distant. Alice had 
alighted ; and when I forced my w r ay through the 
thick underbrush, she followed. 

Ten or twelve feet from the roadway we came 
upon a small open space, six or eight feet square. 
Near one edge of this clearing an old woman 
lay upon the earth, rolling, writhing, and strug- 
gling, seemingly in awful agony. 

As Alice bent over the sufferer, I heard a quick 
step close behind me, and before I could turn I 
received a crushing blow on the head, followed 


60 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


quickly by another and another. I reeled against 
a tree, my hands upraised to ward off the cruel 
blows. With a piercing shriek Alice sprang 
toward me, and fell senseless at my feet ; and 
then I, too, lost consciousness. 


VII. 

When I regained my senses, I found myself in 
the midst of a tremendous uproar. I had been 
conscious of it before my senses fully returned. 
I would gladly have returned to insensibility to 
escape from it, so cruelly did it oppress and tor- 
ment me. It was a dreadful noise. It did not 
seem to come from any particular direction ; the 
awful roar appeared to be all about me, every- 
where. It beat upon me with merciless force and 
persistency. It beat upon my temples, breast, 
and limbs. It rendered me insensible to the 
excruciating pains which must have otherwise 
racked my bruised and lacerated body. It was 
a terrific roar ! Mortal could not imagine, much 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


61 


less describe it. The simultaneous discharge of 

a thousand heavy cannons would be inaudible 

there. If the earth’s crust were pierced where 

the Atlantic is deepest, the thunder of the mighty 

ocean rushing through the orifice would not ex- 
© © 

ceed this tremendous roar. 

I could not long endure it. I could not remain 
there and live. But when I endeavored to rise, 
I discovered that I was bound hand and foot. I 
was lying on my right side, my back resting 
against a ledge. I could not determine whether 
this ledge was many feet high, or merely a low 
ridge. The rocky bed upon which I was stretched 
was covered with an inch or so of water ; but I 
could not judge whether the water was rising or 
receding. Then the horrible thought flashed 
through my brain, that I had been placed there 
to recover consciousness in time to behold the 
relentless waters rising to engulf me. 

Had the fiends remained to witness the con- 
summation of their infernal plot? No; that was 
not probable. No living creature would volun- 
tarily remain in that dreadful place. At that 
instant, a face was thrust into mine, and as sud- 
denly withdrawn. In the dim light I had not 


62 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


recognized the features, but I fancied the face 
wore a hideous grimace. 

When my eyes became accustomed to the dark- 
ness, I could faintly distinguish objects in front 
of me. Behind and above me, however, it was 
black, impenetrable gloom. I was lying near the 
edge of a large basin, which had been formed by 
the cataract that tumbled into it at the other side. 
At first, I thought that this cataract caused the 
great noise of which I have spoken. But, no ; a 
thousand cataracts like it could not produce that 
awful roar. 

The surface of the basin near me was compara- 
tively smooth, being broken only by small waves 
which followed one another quickly, and swept 
over the rocky edge upon which I was stretched. 
At the other side of the basin, where the cataract 
fell, the waters wej-e boiling and seething in a 
violent manner. While I gazed in that direction, 
I perceived that an object, which had been tossed 
hither and thither by the troubled waters, had at 
last escaped beyond the eddy, and was drifting 
swiftly toward me. 

As it approached I was horrified by the dis- 
covery that it was a human head. The face was 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


63 


turned away, and the long white hair floating out 
behind in a thick mass on the dark surface of the 
basin. The ghastly thing approached swiftly, 
rising and falling with the action of the water. 
I saw that it must strike the edge of the basin, 
very near where my head rested. I struggled to 
rise, but could not. When less than twenty inches 
away the head slowly turned until the face came 
in full view. I instantly recognized it as the 
face of the old woman who had decoyed us from 
the stage. Overcome with horror, I closed my 
eyes for an instant. When I opened them again 
the hideous thing, with its dead, staring eyes, 
was rising and falling within two inches of my 
face. I struggled and tried to shriek, but could 
not hear the sound of my own voice. I did suc- 
ceed, though, in snapping the cords with which 
my arms were fastened ; doubtless they had been 
weakened by contact with the rocky surface upon 
which I lay. Struggling to a sitting posture, I 
tore the cords from my feet. Glancing over my 
shoulder I beheld the ghastly head, its contorted 
face turned toward me, rocking to and fro over 
the very spot where my head had rested a mo- 
ment before. While I remained stretched along 


64 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


the edge of the basin, my body had formed an 
obstruction which prevented the floating head 
being forced out upon the rocky edge. 

How many times, while I lay there insensible, 
had the hideous thing been washed up against me 
to be swept back again by the eddying waters of 
the basin ! 

Having released my feet, I groped with one 
hand along the ledge against which my back had 
rested. It was not more than one or two feet 
high. 

I was weak, and my limbs were stiff and sore. 
I dare not rise to my feet, fearing that I would 
stagger into the basin ; but crawling on my 
hands and knees, I made my way toward an 
object which was dimly visible a few feet distant. 
When nearer, I perceived that it was a woman. 
She lay along the edge of the basin in nearly the 
same position in which I had found myself. One 
glance at the white face filled me with terror and 
anguish. It was Alice ! My poor wife ! She, 
too, in this dreadful place ! She was insensible, 
perhaps dead. 

I caught her in my arms, and rising to my feet, 
turned my back on the basin and the faint light, 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


65 


and staggered into the darkness beyond. Frenzy 
gave me strength ; I did not know where my 
steps were leading to. My only desire was to 
get beyond that mighty roar, that I might speak 
to Alice ; call her by name, even if she did not 
answer. 

The surface under my feet was rough and hard, 
and I soon sank down exhausted. 

After a brief rest I endeavored to rise and 
resume my flight ; as I struggled up, my hand 
touched what seemed the face of a solid wall. A 
hasty examination proved the correctness of my 
surmise. Alas ! it was then as I had feared : 
this wall, the rocky floor, the impenetrable dark- 
ness, and the dreadful roar, all pointed to one con- 
clusion. We were prisoners in an underground 
cavern. 

I groped back toward the place in which I had 
left my unconscious wife ; but before it was 
reached my hand came in contact with an object 
which, benumbed though as I was, sent a thrill 
of horror through my whole frame. It was a 
skeleton. I sank down in despair beside my 
wife’s senseless form. 

There was, then, no escape from the dreadful 


66 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL, 


place. If there was an exit anywhere, surely this 
wretched being, whose bones I had disturbed, 
would have found it. 

But how came we here ? What infernal agen- 
cies were employed to deposit us in this seem- 
ingly sealed tomb? I asked myself the question 
many times, but could not find a satisfactory 
answer. 

It was, however, barely possible that we had 
been carried over the cataract, and by it swept 
into the cavern. The fiends had, evidently, 
bound our hands and feet, and lashed us together, 
— that was abundantly proven by the arrangement 
of the ropes I had found on my person, and on 
my wife’s also, — then having attached a weight 
sufficient to sink us to the bottom, they had cast 
us into the river. But this weight was not heavy 
enough to prevent our being swept toward the 
cataract by the strong current. Held close to the 
bottom we plunged over, not on the surface of 
the great cataract, but close to the face of the 
precipice over which it falls. The mouth of the 
cavern, in which we were held prisoners, was in 
the face of this precipice. A tongue-shaped mass 
of rock projected outward and upward frpm the 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


67 


cavern’s mouth, and entered the cataract on the 
inner side, far enough to detach a sheet of water 
about twenty feet broad and several feet in thick- 
ness. The water, thus separated from the great 
cataract, rushed through the cavern’s mouth, and 
formed the small cataract which fell into the basin 
already spoken of. Held back by the weight, we 
had fallen inside the tongue instead of shooting 
out with the main body of water, and had been 
carried, by the small cataract, into the basin, to 
be afterwards washed out upon its rocky edge. 

Supposing this to be the solution of the mys- 
tery, — and I have not since discovered a more 
plausible one,’ — the presence of the old woman’s 
head can be explained. 

Having served their purpose, the villains, fear- 
ing to let her live with a knowledge of their 
crime, had fastened a weight to her body, and 
then tossed her into the river. The current had 
swept her over the cataract, but from some cause 
or other she had not descended inside the tongue 
nor outside of it, but fell squarely on its upper 
edge. The action of the water had rendered this 
edge as keen as a razor, and when the miserable 
creature’s body fell upon it the head was com- 


68 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


pletely severed from the body, the headless trunk 
plunging down with the main cataract into the 
river far below, while the head itself was carried 
through the mouth of the cavern and into the basin, 
to be tossed and buffeted by its churning waters. 

All this flashed through my mind as I sat 
there, my head bowed on my breast, in the midst 
of that incessant thunder, and enveloped in dense 
darkness. 

I soon after arose, lifted my unconscious wife 
in my arms, and struggled forward, determined to 
ascertain the extent of the prison. 

Owing to my weakened condition I was forced 
to stop and rest at the end of every few rods. 

Just after the third rest I discovered that I was 
descending a steep incline. The floor of the 
cavern became smoother as I proceeded ; and, be- 
fore I came to the next rest, it seemed to me that 
the dreadful noise had diminished slightly. I 
might yet find a place in the cavern compara- 
tively free from it. The thought gave me 
strength, and I pushed forward more vigorously 
than ever. I continued, with frequent rests, 
travelling down the steep incline for perhaps two 
hours. It seemed a much longer time. The 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


69 


great noise, that had so powerfully oppressed me, 
had rapidly diminished during the last hour. I 
was at the foot of the descent ; the floor of the 
cavern was level and smooth here. 

I was so weak that I could scarcely stand, and 
was consumed by a burning thirst ; but, by rest- 
ing frequently, I managed to struggle on for 

another hour. At the end of that time I was 
startled by strange sounds, which seemed directly 
ahead, although a great distance off. Heavy 
masses of rock falling upon the cavern’s rocky 
floor would produce sounds somewhat similar. 
Perhaps a portion of the roof was falling in. If 
that were true, there might yet be a chance of 
escape. But no ; these sounds came at regular 
intervals, which would not be the case if they 

were caused by the falling of the roof. What 

produced those strange sounds ? What did it all 
mean? I stopped for another rest; and, having 
deposited my wife’s insensible form upon the 
stony floor, was about to straighten up when I 
was suddenly seized with a strange dizziness, and 
staggering back, would have fallen, but fortu- 
nately my extended hand struck against a wall 
which afforded me support. 


70 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


When the sensation of dizziness had passed 
away, I began to examine this wall. Its surface 
was smooth, and a brief examination convinced 
me that it was not a wall of the cavern ; it was 
the work of human hands. It was made of cut 
stone. I could easily trace with my fingers the 
mark of the workman’s chisel, and the seams 
where the blocks were joined together. Further 
examination revealed that this was the side wall 
of a large stone building. I groped along this 
wall until I reached the front of the building, 
and found the doorway. It was very narrow, 
being not more than two feet wide. It was 
perhaps eight feet high, and arched at the top. 
By thrusting my arm into this narrow entrance, 
I discovered that it was closed by a smooth, 
tightly fitting stone. I fancied that this stone 
yielded slightly when I bore against it ; but be- 
fore I could determine whether it was a fact or 
mere fancy, I was roughly seized from behind, 
pulled backward, and thrown to the ground with 
violence. 

"If you attempt to move, I’ll beat out your 
brains,” said a stern voice at my ear. The 
speaker was evidently bending over me. I had 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


71 


not the power to rise, even if I had wished to do 
so. I had struck the stony floor with great force, 
and the shock had rendered me helpless and 
nearly senseless. I lay perfectly still, while a 
wave of relief and joy swept over me. 

The stranger’s voice was sweet music, even 
though it was an unfriendly voice, and conveyed 
a brutal threat. The presence of a human being, 
after those long, lonely hours of despair, afforded 
me intense happiness. 

"Why don’t you let the fellow get up, Hart?” 
some one near by asked. 

"I’m not holding him down,” Hart replied. 
"Come, sir, get up!” he said, addressing me; 
and an instant after he added, "There are four 
of us ; therefore, the less trouble you give, the 
better it will be for yourself.” 

"I do not wish to give unnecessary trouble, 
gentlemen,” I said. "Indeed, I am overwhelmed 
with joy at meeting you. I have not — ” 

I was here interrupted by a general laugh, which 
was long and hearty, and in a tone of derision 
Hart asked, "Then why don’t you stand up?” 

" I ’m too weak to rise,” I answered. "I have 
suffered severely, and the fall I sustained a mo- 


72 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


ment ago has deprived me of the little strength 
I had.” 

" You seemed strong enough to attempt break- 
ing into the temple,” he said, catching me by the 
shoulders as if to assist me to my feet. But he 
quickly withdrew his hands with a cry of astonish- 
ment. " Sergeant! sergeant!” he cried, "just 
feel of his shell ! ” An instant later the four men 
were passing their hands over my clothing, and 
uttering exclamations of surprise and wonder. 

" Who are you ? Where did you find this ? ” 
the one whom I judged was the sergeant asked, 
clutching the lapel of my coat in the mean time. 

" I am John Curtis,” I answered. " My clothing 
was purchased in Woodwardtown.” 

"Where?” 

" Woodwardtown.” 

There was silence for a moment, and the ser- 
geant evidently moved away, for his voice sounded 
from a distance when he commanded, "Bring 
him along. If he won’t walk, throw him into the 
cart.” 

"You’ve made a mistake, Curtis,” the one 
called Hart said in a low tone, as he helped me to 
rise. " You should have tried a different game. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


73 


One of the worst of our enemies has just escaped 
from the sergeant. The rascal pretended to be 
insane, and thus threw the sergeant off his guard. 
But he will not be deceived the second time by 
that trick. You ought to have tried another.” 

"I don’t understand you,” I said, in the low 
tone in which he had spoken. He said no more 
to me at that time, but called one of the others to 
assist in placing me in the cart. 

While they were thus engaged, I informed them 
that my wife was lying insensible a short distance 
away. 

The sergeant, who in the mean time was walking 
slowly away, now turned and angrily demanded, 
"What does the fellow want? Why don’t you 
bring him along ? ” 

" He says his wife is close by, and he asks us to 
search for her.” 

" Have you got him in the cart ? ” 

"Yes.” 

"Then come on, without further delay.” 

" Sergeant,” I cried, " my wife is lying uncon- 
scious a few rods away. Will you let her remain 
there to die ? ” 

" Where is she ? ” 


74 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVlt,. 


Hart covered my mouth with his broad hand, 
and answered for me. 

"He says she is near the temple, sir.” 

"Pabor, go back and find the woman.” 

A few minutes later Pabor’s voice was heard in 
the distance : " I Ve found her ; but she ’s dead, I 
think.” 

"Let her remain, then, and we’ll send for the 
body.” 

"Oh, no!” I cried. "Do not leave her there. 
She is not dead. Bring her to the light, and you ’ll 
be convinced that I speak the truth.” 

"She is certainly dead,” said Pabor, as he 
approached. 

I struggled to rise, but Hart held me down, and 
while holding a hand tightly over my mouth, 
hissed in my ear, " Fool ! The sergeant’s patience 
can’t last much longer. His next command will 
be to knock out your brains.” 

But he was wrong. For, after a moment’s hesi- 
tation, the sergeant said, "If she is dead, the 
wretch himself has killed her. We ’ll take the 
body along, and have him convicted of two 
crimes instead of one.” 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


75 


VIII. 

My poor wife’s insensible form was placed in 
the cart beside me, and the party started forward 
through the thick darkness, at a rapid rate. 

So far as I could judge, they proceeded in this 
fashion : the sergeant ahead, with Pabor and a 
companion following, drawing the cart, while Hart 
walked close behind. 

How could they move so rapidly in the dark- 
ness ? And why had they not provided themselves; 
with lanterns ? 

" Where are you taking us?” I at length asked'.. 
There was no reply, although I fancied the ser- 
geant muttered something. 

I chafed my wife’s cold hands, and did what I 
could, in my cramped, uncomfortable position, to> 
restore her to consciousness, but I could detect no> 
signs of returning life. " Doubtless she is dead,, 
as Pabor asserted,” I thought, with a groan. "But 
why do I grieve? It may be better for her. I 
do not know what the near future has in store for- 


me. 


76 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVlL. 

My gloomy thoughts were suddenly interrupted 
by a gleam of light shooting through the dark- 
ness. As it approached, my eyes became accus- 
tomed to the glare, and I easily distinguished the 
form and features of the man with the light. 
He was tall and muscular, and strangely clad. 
He wore a close-fitting shirt-like garment, fastened 
at the throat and waist, and extending to the 
knees; from the knees down, his limbs were 
covered with leggings of the same brown material. 
His shoes and the jaunty turban which covered 
his head seemed made of the same stuff also. 
His peculiar-shaped lantern hung suspended from 
his left wrist by a cord or strap ; from his right 
wrist there hung a short, murderous-looking 
bludgeon, which, as I afterwards discovered, was 
made of flint or some equally hard substance. 
He approached near enough to bring my com- 
panions within the small ring of light, and I was 
amazed to perceive that they were dressed in the 
same peculiar fashion as the new-comer. They 
carried clubs, very similar to the one carried by 
him, suspended from their wrists in the same man- 
ner. But all except the sergeant were without 
turbans or head covering of any kind. The ser- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


77 


geant wore a turban very like that worn by the 
stranger. The latter seemed to sweep the party 
with a quick glance, and then fasten his gaze upon 
us as we lay stretched side by side in the small 
cart. This cart seemed made of stone, and I 
afterwards learned that I surmised correctly. The 
wheels, axles, body, and all other parts were 
stone. 

When the stranger saw that I returned his look, 
he placed a finger on his lips, and shook his head 
warningly, as if to imply silence. But I was too 
much surprised to speak. Besides, Hart had told 
me that my tongue had already done me great 
harm, and Hart had shown me little kindnesses from 
the first, and given proofs of a friendly interest. 

The conduct of my companions astonished me 
greatly. They took no notice whatever of the 
stranger, or his welcome light. They did not 
speak to him, nor even slacken their speed, but 
continued on at the same swinging gait, and 
passed on into the darkness, leaving him stand- 
ing gazing after us. 

For fifteen minutes or more we journeyed in 
silence, the footsteps of my four companions 
and the low rumble of the cart being the only 


78 


THE BLIND MEN AND THB DEVIL. 


sounds heard in the vicinity. I could, however, 
hear in the distance the strange sounds — of 
which mention has been made — more distinctly 
than ever. We were evidently approaching 
them. I very much desired to question Hart 
about them, and about other matters of greater 
importance to me, and was on the point of doing 
so when I was startled by the sergeant’s voice 
close to the cart. 

" Hart,” he said, " I ’ll leave you in charge. I 
must report at headquarters.” 

The sergeant’s departure afforded me great 
relief. Hart still continued to walk behind the 
cart, and I ventured to ask him for an explana- 
tion of my surroundings. But at my first word, 
he struck the side of the cart a savage blow with 
his weapon, and roared out, — 

" Silence ! sir ; not a word ! ” 

Ah ! he was in command, now. And how 
easily a stupid man is transformed into a tyrant 
by a little brief authority ! I made no further 
attempt at speech, during the remainder of the 
journey. 

Soon after this, I detected a faint roar very 
like the sound of the sea breaking on a rocky 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


79 


shore at a great distance. It grew louder and 
louder as we proceeded, and I fancied that there 
was something strangely familiar in its swelling 
tone. 

Was it the human voice ? Was this roar caused 
by the combined voices of many thousands of 
human beings? Was it the din of a great city? 
Surely, yes ; I could already distinguish the in- 
dividual cries. 

There were the shrill notes of women and 
children, and the hoarser cry of the men. A 
few moments more, and we were in the thick of 
the multitude. 

Men, women, and children, as I knew by the 
sounds about me, were rushing hither and thither 
in the awful darkness. Yet there seemed to be 
no collisions. " What a strange people ! And 
what a horrible place ! ” I thought, with an inward 
groan. 

Thank Heaven ! My poor Alice sleeps on, un- 
conscious of it all. 

The sounds, which I had first supposed to be 
caused by the falling of masses of rock, were 
now very close, and came from several directions. 
First, a low, grating, grinding noise that made my 


80 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


flesh quiver ; then a loud report, followed by a 
long rattle that sounded like the falling of a 
shower of small stones on the rocky bottom. 

All this time my companions w T ere hurrying on 
as rapidly and seemingly as carelessly as if it were 
broad daylight, instead of impenetrable darkness. 

They halted at last. Two of them assisted me 
from the cart, and up two or three steps. I was 
conscious that we passed through a narrow door- 
way, and across a smooth stone floor, for thirty 
paces or so. Then my conductors halted, and 
stood on either side, supporting me. 

" Curtis,” cried Hart, in an authoritative tone, 
"tell your story to Stevens.” 

I did not see Stevens, nor any one else, in fact. 
I knew that the three men — Hart and his two 
companions — were near; indeed, two of them 
were supporting me. But I saw no one. 

"Why don’t you begin, Curtis?” Hart im- 
patiently asked. 

I began immediately. I gave a faithful account 
of my adventures from the time I left Woodward- 
town up to the moment that I was seized by Hart 
and his companions. 

I was listened to in perfect silence during the 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


81 


recital, and my voice sounded hollow and un- 
natural. 

When I' finished, a voice directly in front of me 
asked abruptly, — 

" Are there any corrections you wish to make 
in that story?” 

"None,” I answered. 

"That’s all, Hart,” said the invisible speaker. 
" Do your duty.” 

At that instant a light pierced the darkness, 
and a quick step was heard approaching. My 
eyes had become accustomed to the light by the 
time the light-bearer had reached my side, and I 
could clearly distinguish surrounding objects. 
The man to whom I had told my story stood 
directly before me on a slightly raised stone plat- 
form. 

There were five or six men ranged on either 
side of him. All of them were clad in the brown 
shirts already described, and all were armed with 
the short stone bludgeons. 

When the light fell upon the faces of the men 
before me, I perceived that they were blind, every 
one of them ! I turned to the two upon whom 
I leaned for support ; they were blind ! I looked 


82 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


at Hart, who was a little to the right ; he was 
blind also ! A cold wave of superstitious horror 
swept over me ; my knees trembled, and I would 
have sunk to the floor but for the support given 
me by the men at my side. 

An exclamation from the light-bearer caused 
me to turn in his direction. 

He, certainly, was not blind. He was gazing 
at me in open-eyed astonishment. He reached 
out and felt of my garments, uttering exclama- 
tions of wonder in the mean time. 

''Doctor,” said Hart, "I sent for you, because 
the prisoner needs your assistance.” 

"Very well,” responded the light-bearer. 
"Take him to a cell, and I'll follow.” 

As I was led away, the light from the doctor’s 
lantern afforded me a good view of the place. 
It was a large, circular stone chamber, with a 
vaulted roof. At the other side, and directly 
opposite the platform at which I had stood a 
moment before, was a large arched doorway. It 
was the main entrance to the building. The sides 
of the chamber were pierced with smaller door- 
ways which led to small chambers or cells. I 
was taken into one of these by the blind men, 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 88 

and conducted to a bed in one corner. This bed 
was simply a number of blankets of thin, soft 
leather spread upon the stone floor. I sank upon 
it, and the two men walked from the cell. The 
next moment the doctor entered. He carried his 
light, and was followed by Hart, who remained 
at the other extremity of the cell while I under- 
went examination. 

"You are covered with blood and bruises, but 
have sustained no serious hurt,” said the doctor. 

Then raising the lantern to my face, he started 
back with a half-suppressed exclamation of sur- 
prise. He held the light close to my eyes for an 
instant, and then asked, — 

"Have you any friends on the Plain?” 

"The Plain?” I repeated, inquiringly. He 
shrugged his shoulders impatiently, and turned 
away. 

I heard him say to Hart, as they left the cell, 
that I was covered with blood and needed a bath, 
" A change of shell — strip off that unsightly thing 
he now wears. No man could live a month clad 
as he is. After that, he will need food and rest 
only.” 

In a short time Hart returned. 


84 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


" I have brought you some food,” he said, pla- 
cing something on the floor near the bed. He 
spoke kindly, and I mustered sufficient courage to 
ask him about Alice. 

" She is in the female department,” he answered. 
" The doctor says she is still alive, but he has 
little hope of her recovery.” After a pause, he 
added, — 

" Curtis, your life will be prolonged by her 
death.” 

I groaned, and he continued, " If she dies, you 
will be punished for killing her. One year in 
prison is the penalty for murder ; and you must 
serve that year before you can be executed for 
the other crime. If she recovers, your execution 
will take place immediately after the trial.” 

"What other crime am I accused of?” I sadly 
asked. He uttered an angry exclamation, and 
then remained silent for several minutes. 

" Why don’t you take the refreshments I 
brought you?” he finally asked. I found the 
pitcher of water he placed near the bed and drank 
eagerly of its contents. He then gave me some- 
thing that at first touch seemed like a rough- 
skinned banana. It was almost tasteless, with a 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


85 


faint flavor which reminded me of the butternut. 
I ate heartily of this strange food, and was greatly 
refreshed. Hart then conducted me to the bath, 
and after bathing I dressed myself in a suit 
of " shell ” which he had procured for me. He 
led me back to the cell, and when I had sunk 
upon the bed he turned and walked out of the 
cell without speaking. Indeed, he had not spoken 
a word during the last half-hour that he spent 
with me. If I had asked no questions, he might 
have talked on, and have given me some insight 
into my situation. I would be more discreet in 
the future. While yet troubled with this thought, 
sleep came to my relief. 


IX. 

When I awoke I was conscious of voices just 
outside the cell door ; and from some words that 
reached me, I judged that two persons — Hart 
and another — were inspecting the garments 
which I had worn, with great curiosity. "Yes; 
you may talk with him,” Hart said, " but it will 


86 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


do you no good. He will not admit that he 
knows anything. He pretends to be ignorant of 
the simplest things, — things that are familiar to 
the smallest child in the procession.” 

" Perhaps his ignorance is not assumed,” said 
the other. " It is possible that he came from an- 
other and very different procession.” 

Hart laughed, and said, — 

" I don’t believe it. I ’m convinced that he pre- 
tends to be a fool, hoping to thus escape the 
penalty of his crimes. However, when he has 
had his sleep out you may talk with him, and 
judge for yourself. I cannot disturb him. The 
doctor says he must be allowed all the sleep he 
requires.” 

" Oh, certainly !” said the other ; and then with 
a touch of bitterness he added, "Restore him to 
perfect health, that his death may be the more 
painful.” 

Soon after I heard them approach, and at the 
same time my cell became brightly illuminated. 
One of them carried a light, evidently. They 
stopped just outside the cell door, and continued 
the conversation in lower tones. They finally 
moved away, but the light remained. When their 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


87 


footsteps could no longer be heard, I arose from 
the bed and hastened to the door of the cell. 
Just outside, on the floor of the main chamber, I 
found a peculiarly shaped stone lantern, or lamp, 
just as I had seen with the doctor. I raised it 
and looked about the large circular chamber. It 
was empty. In the distance I saw the raised 
platform before which I had stood and told my 
story some hours before. 

I afterwards learned that when there was but 
one prisoner in the building, as in the present 
case, the guard was removed from the main 
chamber, upon which the numerous cells opened, 
the one exit from this chamber being always 
well guarded. I had just decided to make an 
examination of the place, when I detected the 
sound of approaching footsteps. Withdrawing 
quickly into my cell, I placed the lamp on the 
floor, and sank upon the bed and listened. The 
new-comers proved to be Hart and his companion. 
They entered the cell and approached me. The 
lamp I had appropriated illumined the little stone 
cell, and I obtained a good view of Hart’s com- 
panion. He was of medium height, broad- 
shouldered, and athletic looking. He carried his 


88 


THE BLIND MEN AND HIE DEVIL. 


head high, in a way that reminded me of Selectman 
Luddington, of Woodwardtown. But Ludding- 
ton had a dull, vacant face, which was all the more 
disagreeable because conspicuously paraded. This 
stranger, though, as he stood beside the bed and 
bent his kindly gaze upon me, had the thoughtful, 
half-sad, half-earnest expression of the tireless 
enthusiast. I liked this man’s looks. Hart had 
withdrawn when he discovered that I was awake ; 
and the stranger, seating himself on the edge of 
the bed, began the conversation by remarking 
that perhaps the presence of a light would render 
my prison less gloomy. 

" But it is yours,” I said. 

" It is yours, if you wish it,” he answered ; " I 
can spare it. A walk home in the dark will serve 
me. I often walk without a light, to improve my 
sense of feeling and hearing, and to keep me in 
touch with my friends.” 

"It will be taken from me as soon as it is 
discovered,” I said, ruefully. 

"How will they discover it?” he asked. 

"They’re all blind, then!” I cried in aston- 
ishment. 

"Were there no blind people in the procession 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


89 


to which you belong?” he asked, fixing his gaze 
searchingly on my face. 

" I belong to no procession,” I replied. "I 
came from — ” 

"Never mind,” he said, with an impatient 
gesture. " I have heard your story from Hart. 
It ought to be modified somewhat.” After a 
moment he added, "Curtis, you can be of great 
service to me, and perhaps I can render you 
some service in return. I am struggling with 
a difficulty far greater than that in which you 
find yourself. Yours is merely a matter of life 
and death to you ; mine is a matter of great 
importance to all the people of this generation. 
You can help me, if you choose. Think it over, 
and I will call and see you again.” He had 
risen from the bed, and was moving away. 

"Who are you?” I cried. 

"My name is Hill.” 

"Mr. Hill — ”1 began; but at the first word 
he turned fiercely and advanced a step toward 
me, in evident anger. Then he checked him- 
self, and after a momentary struggle he asked, 
in a tone in which there was still a trace of 


anger, — ■ 


90 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


" Are you really ignorant of the fact that you 
have applied an offensive title to me?” 

" Title!” I gasped. "What title did I use?” 

He looked steadily at me a moment, and then in 
a kinder tone he said, "' Mister’ is not applied to 
any one here. Those who live on the heights 
can use that title ; the rest of us have no right 
to it. But,” he continued, " what did you 
wish to ask me?” 

"About my wife,” I answered. "I am in an 
agony of suspense concerning her.” 

"Ah, yes! I had forgotten that I have news 
for you regarding her.” 

"Have you seen her?” I exclaimed. 

" No ; male visitors are not allowed in the 
female prison ; but I have seen Mother Russell. 
She says that Sister Curtis has regained con- 
sciousness, and is recovering rapidly. You may 
make your mind easy about her. Mother Rus- 
sell, kind soul, has consented to attend her in 
person, and I have made arrangements — ” He 
checked himself suddenly, but after a moment’s 
silence resumed : " Never mind the rest, until 
you see me again. Ponder upon what I have 
said. If you can bring yourself to give me the 


i’HE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


91 


information I need, you will have no cause to 
regret having befriended me.” 

When he reached the door, he turned and 
said, " Don’t insist on that strange story of 
yours. You will make enemies every time that 
it is repeated. Maintain silence, if you cannot 
tell something more probable.” The next in- 
stant he was gone. 

Hart entered soon after, with a stone pitcher 
filled with water, and a small stone tray, upon 
which I found one of the rough-skinned, banana- 
shaped rolls of which I have already spoken. 
These people, as I subsequently ascertained, sub- 
sisted entirely on these rolls ; they had no other 
article of food. They named it " subsistence,” 
but it had been abbreviated to "sub,” and was 
rarely called anything else. Although having 
very little flavor of any kind, it was excellent 
food, wholesome and nutritious, as I had very 
good reason to know. 

Hart stood near the bed without speaking a 
word, until I had finished the simple meal. 
Then, as he was about to depart with the empty 
tray and pitcher, he said, " The sleeping turn 
will soon begin, and you will not be disturbed 


92 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


for eight hours. Get all the sleep possible. 
You need it.” I signified a desire to sleep, and 
he left me. 

Shortly after, the loud, harsh, crushing sounds, 
of which I have made mention before, ceased. 
This was the signal that the sleeping turn had 
begun. The word " day ” was unknown here. 
In fact, there was no day. It was night always, 
the blackest of black nights. Time was divided 
between the sleeping turn and the marching 
turn. In the latter period there were sixteen 
hours, and eight only in the former. All neces- 
sary labor was performed during the marching 
turn, the other period being devoted to sleep, 
as its name implies. 

I did not, however, intend to sleep. I had 
awakened from a refreshing slumber but a few 
hours before. I had regained much of my strength, 
and determined, with the aid of the lantern left 
me by Hill, to examine the place. 

Seizing the lantern, I emerged from my cell 
into the large main chamber. It was empty, as I 
had supposed. 

I proceeded toward the raised platform, hoping 
to find there a weapon of some kind with which to 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


03 


defend myself. I peered into several of the empty 
cells which I passed on the way. They were all 
small, and in other respects similar to the one I 
had occupied. I found nothing in them that would 
serve me as a weapon, and my search in the 
neighborhood of the platform was also fruitless. 

Just back of the platform I discovered stone 
steps leading down through the solid rock floor. 
Doubtless, they led to Stevens’s quarters. Stevens 
was the blind man to whom I had related my story 
when first brought to the place. He seemed to be 
chief in authority. 

I hesitated about descending these steps, and 
while I was still debating the matter with myself, I 
was startled by the sound of approaching footsteps. 
They came from the direction of the main entrance, 
at the other side of the chamber. I quickly de- 
scended a few steps, and sat down, with my head 
just below the level of the floor. My first impulse 
was to conceal the lantern in the folds of my long 
leather shirt ; but then I remembered these peo- 
ple were blind, and could not be aware of the 
light, and it would give me a decided advantage 
over them. 

The new-comers stopped at the platform. There 


94 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


were two of them, and I instantly recognized their 
voices. " Pabor and the sergeant ! ” I mentally 
ejaculated. 

"Stevens is asleep, of course,” the sergeant 
said, seating himself on the edge of the platform ; 
"be ’s always asleep when not smoking.” 

"That’s because you give him little to do,” re- 
sponded Pabor. 

"It’s true, I don’t keep him busy. I do, how- 
ever, bring him in valuable game. That Curtis, 
for example, is, I’m sure, one of the most skilful 
villains afoot.” 

"I suppose he’s one of Easter’s gang?” Pabor 
asked. 

"No doubt of it,” the other replied. "Hi^ cap- 
ture was the most important that has been made 
in a long time. It ought to bring me promotion.” 

? "But it was Hart that captured him, not you.” 

1 

"But wasn’t I in command at the time?” 

"Oh, yes; the commander always gets the 
credit due his subordinates.” 

"To whom should the credit go, if not to the 
man who directs and controls the stupid crowd?” 

"Then, if by reason of Hart’s stupidity the fel- 
low had escaped, it would be your fault, eh?” 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


95 


" Nonsense, Pabor ; you were always an envious 
rascal; but you’re getting worse. You actually 
emit poison with every breath.” 

" You ought not to be the first to accuse me of 
being envious,” said Pabor, sullenly. 

"I’m not, if that’s any consolation,” said the 
other, laughingly ; " everybody has said it long be- 
fore me. I ’m among the last to bring the charge 
against you, my dear fellow.” 

Pabor had walked off a few steps ; he now 
turned, and gruffly asked, " What secret do you 
wish to confide? Why did you bring me here?” 

For the remainder of the time the two men sat 
close together on the edge of the platform, con- 
versing in low tones. I overheard enough of their 
conversation to reveal to me that these men were 
called guardsmen, and that they were plotting to 
ruin a brother guardsman named Leete. This 
Leete had been very successful, and had there- 
fore excited the envy of his fellows. The ser- 
geant had discovered that an institution called the 
Farren Temple w.as being systematically robbed. 
He had also discovered that the person guilty of 
robbing this temple was a public official of great 
influence. He had informed Leete of the robbery, 


96 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


but had withheld the name of the robber. The 
clever Leete would quickly get on the track of the 
guilty person. Then the sergeant and Pabor 
would lay before this thieving official manufac- 
tured evidence, which tended to show that Leete 
was robbing this temple himself, but all the while 
striving to fasten the guilt upon "your Excel- 
lency.” His Excellency, with the aid of the evi- 
dence supplied by Pabor and the sergeant, would 
turn and crush the unfortunate Leete. Thus Pa- 
bor and the sergeant would be rid of a powerful 
rival, and at the same time earn the eternal 
gratitude of a very high and influential public 
official. 

They had come to this secluded place to arrange 
the details of the plot, and when they had per- 
fected their plans they walked away together. I 
watched them until they disappeared through the 
main entrance, at the other side of the chamber. 
Then I crept from my hiding-place, and hurriedly 
returned to my cell. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


97 


X. 

I went to the bed, and taking one of the thin, 
soft leather sheets of which it was made, tore off 
two strips, and wound them securely about my 
shoes. This was a precaution that I ought to 
have taken before. The close proximity of Pabor 
and the sergeant had brought forcibly to my mind 
the need of muffling my shoes, so that I could 
move about noiselessly. 

When I had accomplished this to my satisfac- 
tion, I set out once more with my lantern. I 
directed my steps toward the main entrance, de- 
termined to escape from the building, if possible. 

I halted at the entrance, and looked out upon 
the court-yard. The rays from my lantern illu- 
minated the space between the building and the 
wall by w’hich it was surrounded. Within this 
enclosure there were a dozen or fifteen men 
pacing silently up and down. Each carried the 
murderous-looking short club suspended from 
his wrist. They did not speak, not even in 
whispers, although they brushed by each other 


\)S THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 

every few seconds. Their shoes were evidently 
different from those worn by the others whom I 
had seen. They made no sound on the rocky 
floor. 

I realized that it would be impossible for a 
person to escape from the building while these 
silent spectres moved up and down before the 
doorway. I believed, however, that my lantern 
would enable me to pass them. But even with 
the advantage which the lantern gave me, I found 
it a difficult and dangerous task. 

Three times I glided out from the doorway, 
and each time I came within a hair’s breadth of 
colliding with one of the silent but quickly mov- 
ing spectres. 

At the fourth attempt, I succeeded in getting 
some distance from the doorway and into the 
very midst of them, and then, with clinched teeth 
and repressed breath, I at last passed beyond 
them without detection, and reached the gateway 
in the wall. This was not guarded. Once out- 
side I hurried away, paying no attention to my 
surroundings. I had no definite plan in mind ; I 
did not know where my steps were leading to. 
My sole desire at the moment was to get as far as 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


99 


possible from my late prison and its ghost-like 
guardsmen. But, after a time, finding that I was 
not pursued, I slackened my speed. The knowl- 
edge that I was safe for the present gave me 
momentary relief, which was quickly succeeded 
by a feeling of utter relaxation. I sank upon the 
stony floor, and waited until the reaction had 
passed. When I had recovered somewhat, I sat 
up and gazed about me. To my great astonish- 
ment, I perceived that I was not alone. There 
were a number of persons stretched upon the 
hard floor, not more than ten feet distant. 
There were a dozen or fifteen of them lying three 
or four in a group. I concluded that each group 
was a family. I could see the children lying 
near their parents. The women were distin- 
guishable by their long hair, which was unbound. 
The women of this place always wore their hair 
in this fashion. These people were asleep, appar- 
ently, and unconscious of my presence. Looking 
beyond them, I perceived something which at first 
sight seemed to be a small cave, its floor covered 
with stones of various shapes and sizes. Closer 
inspection revealed that what I had taken for the 
roof of the cave was a large flat stone, one edge 


100 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


of which rested on the floor, the other being 
elevated high in the air, and supported by a con- 
trivance which greatly resembled an upright figure 
4. But what struck me as most singular was the 
fact that there were two groups, or families, 
sleeping directly under this huge stone. If by 
any chance the support, which held it in an 
elevated position, gave way, the immense stone, 
many tons in weight, would certainly fall and 
crush them. Why had they chosen that for a 
sleeping-place ? There was an abundance of room 
outside. 

While I was still regarding the strange scene, 
I became conscious that some persons behind me 
were conversing in low tones. My first thought 
was to secrete my lantern ; but, remembering that 
I was among blind people, I arose and crept 
softly back in the direction of the voices. A 
moment later the rays from my lantern disclosed 
to me an old couple sitting together upon a slight 
rise in the floor. 

"Why don’t you lie down, and try to sleep?” 
she asked him. "You must rest, and preserve 
your strength, or you’ll be too weak to work, if 
you ever get the chance.” 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 101 


''Very few chances for any one, these late 
years,” he said, gloomily; " When I was a young 
man, there was somebody killed every turn. 
Then a fellow could get a place occasionally. 
They never kill any one now, and I don’t know 
what’s going to become of us.” After a pause 
he asked, "Did I tell you that I had discovered 
the Dudleys ? ” 

"Discovered them ! ” she exclaimed. "Why, I 
knew their whereabouts for a year past.” 

"You did, eh ! ” he cried, with sudden fierce- 
ness. 

"To be sure, I did. Where did you think I 
obtained the sub which kept us alive?” 

"Yes, yes,” he said, bitterly; "but I’m sorry 
you begged from them.” 

" And why not from them ? I never met kinder 
people. They never assume to be vastly better 
and wiser than the beggar. Their gifts are never 
accompanied by lamentations on the general lack 
of economy.” 

" But did n’t you know that Little would pay a 
liberal reward for information that would lead to 
their arrest?” he asked, peevishly. 

"Well?” 


102 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


"Well; I intend to secure the reward without 
delay.” 

"You! — you inform on the Dudleys! They 
have fed you for a year.” 

"They have only half fed me. I’m starving 
now.” 

"You ’re an ungrateful old wretch !” 

"I’ve been most ungrateful to myself. It shall 
not be so any longer.” 

The old woman bowed her head upon her 
hands, but made no reply ; and he resumed, 
while his limbs trembled with weakness or ex- 
citement, — 

"Why must we sit here from year’s end to 
year’s end without light, or heat, or comfort? 
Why don’t they march forward, and permit us to 
ascend above this dismal place?” 

"But the Dudleys are not to blame. They are 
not hindering the procession,” the woman said, 
her head still bowed upon her hands. 

"Yes, wife, they are. It is they and their kind 
that prevent progress. If those on the plain 
would only move upward, the whole procession 
could advance. They have eyes, and can see ; 
and they could lead us out of the difficulty. I 


THE! BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


103 


know it; I feel it in my blood, and it makes me 
desperate, and even blood-thirsty at times. But, 
no ; instead of climbing upward themselves, they 
shout to us, from their high place on the hillside, 
to be patient ; that it is the king’s will that 
the procession remain as it is. But they lie ! 
The king never sent us on the march simply to 
enable twenty regiments to climb to the hillside, 
while the other eighty regiments continue to 
grope in the darkness of the valley. He did not 
intend that the procession should halt until the 
last man in its rear rank had climbed up from the 
valley to the light and comforts of the hillside.” 
The old man had risen to his feet, and stood be- 
fore his wife, who still sat with bowed head ; the 
light from my lantern fell full upon his bent, 
trembling frame, and brought out plainly every 
feature of his pinched face. 

Suddenly there came a low, harsh, grating 
sound, quickly followed by a loud crash. At 
the first sound the woman had sprang to her feet, 
and seizing the old man dragged him in the direc- 
tion from whence the strange sound proceeded. 

" Run ! run ! ” she cried ; " there may be a 
chance for you yet.” 


104 THE BLIND MEN AND THE t>EVlL. 


He struggled on as fast as he could, but his 
limbs were weak, he tottered at every step, and 
I knew that if speed were a requisite for winning 
the prize, whatever the prize might be, that this 
old man was distanced at the start. 

I had started to follow the old couple and 
ascertain the reason of their sudden flight, when I 
heard the sounds of hurrying feet behind me. 
The next instant a man shot by, running at a 
rapid rate ; he was followed by three or four 
others ; then came a bunch of ten or a dozen, all 
rushing madly through the darkness. These 
were the men to win ; these silent, swift fellows, 
who uttered no sound, but bent all their e'nergies 
to the task of reaching the goal. Behind them 
came the noisy but defeated rabble ; men, 
women, and children hurrying on after the swift 
runners, the women dragging the smaller chil- 
dren after them ; some held infants at their 
bosoms with one hand, and with the other 
dragged larger children behind them, and all 
were screaming to their male friends, "Hasten! 
hasten ! ” Husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers 
were implored to run fastqr ; scolded because of 
their slowness, or threatened with many evils if 


'THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 105 


they failed to win. They swept by like a whirl- 
wind, and I followed at a quick walk. I soon 
came to a slight ascent. When I climbed this I 
found myself near the large, flat stone, which I 
have described as being supported in an elevated 
position. The dozen or fifteen persons whom I 
had seen sleeping near by had disappeared ; they 
had joined in the race, no doubt. The two 
families that I had observed under this flat stone 
were still there. They had been awakened by 
the tumult, and were sitting up, listening to the 
roar of the hurrying multitude. 

A little way beyond I found another of these 

peculiar flat stones, with one edge elevated high 

in the air, and beyond this another, and then 

several, until I finally made out that there were a 

great number of them. In some cases the flat 
© 

stone was blocked up a few feet only ; just far 
enough to permit the tenants to crawl under. The 
space under each of the flat stones was occupied 
by two families ; and I perceived that in no case 
did these families leave their posts to join in the 
race. 

I walked on for perhaps fifteen minutes, when I 
became suddenly aware that the race was at an 


106 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


end. The flying multitude had come to a halt. 
Evidently the goal had been reached. Some of 
the people were already retracing their steps. 
Certain scraps of their conversation reached me, 
from which I judged that the prize had been 
secured by two men, named Birk andFayee. 

A few moments more brought me to the spot 
where the multitude had halted, and now stood 
giving vent to expressions of anger and disap- 
pointment. They had formed a circle about one 
of the flat stones before described. I was aston- 
ished to perceive that they made no offer to assist 
Birk and Fayee, who were struggling desperately 
to raise this flat stone. With the aid of long 
levers they elevated the stone a few inches ; then 
one of them, by throwing the weight of his body 
on the lever, held the heavy stone until his com- 
panion had blocked it up with stone chips. Then 
they pro&ired a larger fulcrum, and repeated the 
operation. When they had succeeded in raising 
one edge of the large stone — the other edge 
seemed to be hinged to the floor by some means 
or other — sufficiently to permit them to crawl 
beneath it, they did so, and soon reappeared, drag- 
ging out a mangled corpse. They quickly re- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 10 7 


entered and brought forth another, which they 
laid beside the first, and then turned back to seek 
for more. I turned away horror-stricken. What 
I had seen and heard made it all plain to me. 
These large, flat stones, or crushers, as they were 
called, were really rude machines which were in 
operation during certain hours. Two men were 
required at each machine, and these were called 
operators. They were obliged to stay close to 
their machine always. The competition for the 
position of operator was constant and sharp, and 
the operator who wandered a few yards from his 
machine would be likely to find his place taken 
by another when he returned. 

At the end of every sixteen hours the crushers 
were blocked up, and allowed to remain in that 
position during the eight hours of the resting 
turn. The operators and their families slept 
under the crushers during this turn. The sup- 
ports that held up the huge stones were not 
always properly adjusted ; and, as a consequence, 
the heavy stones often fell and crushed the 
wretches beneath them. The falling of a crusher 
produced a loud report, and when such a report 
was heard during the hours of rest the thousands 


108 THE BLIND MEN AND tHE DEVIL. 


in the lower valley knew that an accident had 
occurred which had caused two vacancies in 
the ranks of the operators, and the thousands 
instantly arose and rushed madly through the 
darkness in the direction from whence the sound 
came. The two men first on the scene seized the 
levers and began immediately to pry up the huge 
stone, and to extricate the mangled bodies lying 
beneath. These two had won the prize for which 
thousands had raced. They had won the places 
made vacant by the death of the unfortunate 
wretches whose lifeless bodies they dragged from 
beneath the crusher. 

" An operator’s position must be highly remu- 
nerative,” thought I; "the privileges and profits 
attached must be great, indeed, when these people 
struggle so fiercely, and risk so much to obtain 
them.” I was destined, however, to soon obtain 
a practical knowledge of the workings of a 
crusher, which will be described in the next 
chapter of this history. 


THE BLIND MEN AND l'HE DEVIL. j.09 


XT. 

The disappointed multitude stood about the 
crusher, some giving vent to their anger in loud 
tones, and fiercely denouncing a system which 
permitted such insignificant fellows as Birk and 
Fayee to win, while better men were left to suf- 
fer. Others laughed and chatted gayly over 
the whole matter. Others still walked slowly 
away, silent, sullen, and downcast. 

"Old Tracy won’t run many more races,” 
said a man standing near me. His companion 
laughed, and then, with some seriousness, said, — 

"He will hardly be missed in so large a crowd.” 

Tracy was tottering slowly by at the time, 
leaning for support on his wife. I recognized 
them as the couple whose conversation I had 
overheard just before the race. I followed them 
at a short distance. 

" Wife,” the old man said, in a feeble voice, 
" we must be near Holland’s hut.” 

"It is a little to the right of us,” answered the 


woman. 


110 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL* 


" Help me there, wife, help me there ; I must 
beg a mouthful of food. I’m faint with hunger. 
The race has used me up completely. I ought not 
to have undertaken it. I might have known that 
I could not win where there were so many young 
and fleet-footed competitors.” 

A few minutes’ walk brought them to a round- 
roofed, one-story stone hut. The old man’s 
summons was answered by an elderly woman. 
As she pushed aside the curtain that served for a 
door and stepped out, she asked, — 

" Who is it ? What do you want ? ” 

" It is I, Sister Holland ; old Tracy. I ’in hun- 
gry. Give me something to eat, and the king’s 
blessing be on you.” 

"Oh, another beggar ; I never saw so many 
before. There ’s one here every hour. Why 
don’t you get a place at one of the crushers, and 
not spend your time annoying decent people?” 

The old man, who had just returned from an un- 
successful race for a place at one of the crushers, 
made no answer, and the woman turned to re-enter 
the hut, when a voice from the darkness cried, — 
" Give him food. Will you let the old man 
starve at your door ? ” 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


Ill 


The next instant a woman stepped quickly into 
the ring of light cast by my lantern, and with one 
glance toward me, swept on to where the others 
stood at the door of the hut. I perceived that 
she was- not blind, like the others. At the first 
sound of her voice the old man’s pinched face 
sharpened and hardened ; but his wife turned 
with a look full of gratitude toward the new- 
comer. 

The woman of the hut, with averted face, said 
angrily, "You injure these people, Sister Dud- 
ley; you encourage idleness.” 

"Never mind,” the other replied; "I’ll repay 
you for the loss you sustain by them.” 

The woman hesitated a moment, and then bid- 
ding Tracy and his wife to follow, she entered 
the hut. The other turned and walked quickly 
away. 

" Miss Dudley ! ” I cried, hurrying after her, 
'"I have something of importance to say to you.” 

" Miss Dudley ! ” she exclaimed, stopping and 
facing me with a look of astonishment ; " it is the 
second time within a few hours that I have been 
addressed in that strange way. Can it be that 
you are — Who are you? What is your name ? ” 


112 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


"My name is John Curtis.” 

" Ah, I suspected so. Your wife addressed me 
in the same strange — ” 

"My wife!” I cried, seizing her by the arm. 
" Where is she? Will you take me to her? ” 

She shook off my grasp and retreated a step, 
saying, — 

” I cannot ; she is, however, in good hands, 
and recovering her strength. But I cannot un- 
derstand how you are here. Have you escaped 
from the guard ? ” „ 

I related how, with the aid of the lantern, I had 
eluded the guards stationed at the prison entrance. 
When I repeated the interview I had overheard 
between Tracy and his wife, and told of the threat 
Tracy had made, she buried her face in her hands 
and remained silent for several minutes. 

" I cannot blame them,” she said at last, more 
to herself than to me ; " the people here have been 
kind to us ; they have shielded us from pursuit 
for many years.” 

She was moving away, when, suddenly recalling 
my presence, she turned back and said, — 

" I am unable to express my gratitude for your 
kind interest. The information you have given 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


113 


will serve to place us more on our guard. But I 
do not know how I can repay you. I am as help- 
less as yourself.” 

" If you have access to my wife’s cell, you can 
be kind — ” I began. 

" I shall do everything in my power to relieve 
her wretchedness,” she warmly interposed. "I 
would do so for her own sake, and because she is 
pursued by the same monster that has rendered 
my life, our lives, miserable.” She averted her 
face, and her whole frame was shaken with emo- 
tion. But she mastered her feelings quickly, and 
again turned toward me. She was weirdly beau- 
tiful, standing in the full blaze of the lantern, a 
wall of inky blackness rising behind her, her 
hands clasped before her, the finely moulded form 
showing to the best advantage in the closely fit- 
ting shell gown, the dark hair loose and falling 
in masses over her shoulders and reaching to her 
waist, her white face — a beautiful face, in spite of 
its fixed look of melancholy — brought out strongly 
by its sombre settings. The charm held me 
silent ; but the next instant the spell was broken 
by voices behind us, and Tracy and his wife 
emerged from the hut. 


114 THE BLIND MEN AND TIIE DEVIL. 


”1 must follow them,” said my companion, 
" and if possible dissuade the old man from exe- 
cuting his threat. Remain here until I return.” 

She hurried away in the direction the old 
couple had taken. I sat down to await her re- 
turn, and was soon lost in deep and unpleasant 
thought. I remained so for perhaps half an 
hour, when, suddenly looking up, I beheld her 
standing before me. Rising to my feet, I asked, 
"Did you succeed, Miss — Sister Dudley? or 
does Tracy still adhere to his determination to 
inform against you? ” 

"Tracy ! Inform against me ! ” she exclaimed, 
almost fiercely. " Who are you ? ” and then pass- 
ing her hand wearily over her forehead, she added, 
"Oh, yes; I remember. I have not seen Tracy, 
but I have forgotten your name, and when we 
met.” She again passed her hand over her fore- 
head, but I fancied that the weariness was assumed, 
and her keen eyes were throughout fixed search- 
ingly upon me. I was struck dumb with aston- 
ishment. The change in her manner was so com- 
plete. Her face, too, had altered greatly ; just 
how or where, I could not tell. Perhaps the lips 
were too tightly compressed, which gave to the 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


115 


mouth a hard, cruel expression. All trace of 
melancholy had certainly disappeared, her face 
now exhibited defiance and a look of haughty 
command. 

"I have forgotten your name,” she repeated, 
after a pause, during which I had continued to 
stare at her in blank amazement. 

"My name is John Curtis.” 

"Ah, you are the strange man recently captured 
by the guardsmen. Have they set you free?” 

" I am free,” I answered. 

"You have escaped them, eh ? ” she said with a 
little laugh. "You must be clever. The captain 
would be delighted to secure you.” 

"What captain? Where is he?” I asked. "I 
would — ” But With an imperious wave of the 
hand she said, — 

"We ’ll let that rest for the present. Tell me 
how you discovered that Tracy had threatened to 
inform against — me. You have already related 
the story to me, but I wish to hear it again, and 
you will lose nothing by humoring my whims. I 
am powerful, and can befriend you. I can, in 
fact, conduct you safely beyond the power of the 
guardsmen.” 


116 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


I repeated the story slowly and somewhat 
mechanically, my mind filled with strange doubts 
because of the wonderful transformation my com- 
panion had undergone. 

She remained silent during the recital, and 
made no comment whatever at its conclusion. 
After a moment’s silence, she said, "I will send a 
man here to conduct you to the captain. He will 
he here inside of half an hour ; you will recog- 
nize him by the password he will give you.” 
Approaching close to my side, she added in a low 
tone, " The password is ' Easter.’” Then stoop- 
ing, she undid the little leather or shell curtains 
which were fastened in rolls at the top of my lan- 
tern, letting them fall down over its sides, and 
completely shutting in the light. "You will not 
need the light,” she said, "and it is safer to con- 
ceal it. Remember the password. Good by.” 

I heard no sound of retreating footsteps, but I 
knew that she had departed, and that I was alone 
in the utter darkness. A dead silence prevailed ; 
I knew, however, that it must be near the end of 
the resting or sleeping turn, that the crushers 
would soon renew operations, and that my imme- 
diate neighborhood would then be a scene of 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


117 


activity, filled with busy people. I earnestly 
hoped that the guide Sister Dudley had promised 
me w’ould arrive before the people rose from their 
slumbers. What was that? I thought I heard a 
noise behind me, but after listening several min- 
utes and hearing nothing, I concluded that I must 
have been mistaken. My thoughts reverted to 
the strange woman, and the amazing change that 
had come over her during the interval between 
our first and second interviews. Why had she 
assumed at the second interview to have forgotten 
me, and the talk we had had a short time previous ? 
It was possible that her memory was strangely 
defective. It might be a peculiarity of the place. 
Perhaps these strange people lacked the faculty of 
memory. I shivered at the thought, and relaxed 
my grasp on the lantern strap ; the lantern fell 
with a dull thud, and the next instant I was seized 
from behind. I struggled to free myself, but a 
noose was quickly passed over my head and 
shoulders, and drawn tightly about me at the 
elbows, pinioning my arms against my body. 

"I thought you expected me,” said a voice in 
my ear. 

" I did not expect so forceful a greeting, though,” 


118 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


I answered. "I supposed you would approach 
me with a password.” 

"Oh, indeed; but, you know, I’ve forgotten 
the word. We’ll get along very well without, 
however.” 

"But why am I bound?” I demanded. "I’m 
not a prisoner.” 

"We’ll assume that you are a prisoner,” he 
said ; " it will enable us to travel with greater 
safety.” 

With a hand on my arm he led me forward in 
the dense darkness without another word. When 
I again essayed to question him, he ordered me to 
be silent. 

"We cannot hope to escape, unless you preserve 
silence,” he explained. 

We walked on in silence for a long time, an 
hour perhaps, when suddenly he stopped, and 
having spoken in a whisper to some invisible per- 
son, led me on again. We ascended two or three 
steps, passed through a narrow door, then on for 
a few paces, through another door ; after which, I 
was suddenly seized, and thrown to the floor. 
My eyes were useless in that awful darkness. I 
judged, however, that I was surrounded by six or 


tiie Blind men and the devil. 119 


eight men; some held me down on my back, 
while others strapped me to the stone floor. I 
implored them to tell me what it meant, but they 
remained silent. I endeavored to struggle, but 
was powerless in the hands of the strong, dumb 
creatures. They bound me so securely that I was 
scarcely able to move a muscle, and wdien this 
was done I felt rather than heard them move 
away. Shortly after, I heard footsteps. Some- 
body was evidently pacing slowly up and down 
a short distance away, — a sentinel, doubtless, 
standing guard over me. 

The stone floor, to which I was tightly lashed, 
sent a cold chill creeping over me, which was 
quickly followed by a burning sensation. Sparks 
of fire danced before my eyes, and there was a 
roar like the sound of rushing waters in my ears. 
I felt that my senses were deserting me. I en- 
deavored to call for help, but the cry died in my 
throat. Tor a moment I was conscious of an 
awful sense of suffocation ; the surrounding dark- 
ness seemed pressing down upon me ; and then I 
sank into insensibility. 


120 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL, 


XII. 

I was conscious of the cords that held me to the 
floor, the instant that I regained my senses. In- 
deed, I was conscious of the harsh bonds before 
my senses had fully returned. 

I could hear in the distance the sounds caused 
by the falling of the crushers, and I concluded 
that the marching turn had begun, and that the 
machines were in operation. There were no other 
sounds. All about me was dead silence. The 
tread of the solitary sentinel whom I had heard a 
short way off would have been a relief, but he 
had evidently been removed. The dreadful dark- 
ness was more oppressive than ever ; it bore down 
heavily upon me, and seemed about to deprive 
me of the power of breathing. I prayed for 
death, and groaned aloud in my agony. 

”Ah, Curtis; you’ve got yourself in a pretty 
fix.” 

It was Hart’s voice. 

"Is it you, Mr. Hart? ” I cried. 

"It is Hart,” he said, gruffly. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


121 


" Why am I treated in this manner? If you 
intend to kill me, be merciful, and end my misery 
at once.” 

"We intend to secure your presence with us. 
We don’t desire to lose you again.” 

" But I cannot live much longer in this posi- 
tion,” I expostulated. 

" Oh, yes, you can, Curtis; there’s no imme- 
diate danger of you. Anyhow, I can do nothing 
for you until Leete comes. You are his prisoner. 
It was he recaptured you.” 

" Leete,” I muttered. The name sounded famil- 
iar. Then I remembered the conversation I had 
overheard between Pabor and the sergeant. 

"When will he arrive?” I asked. 

"He will be here soon. It is past his time 
already.” 

"Tell him, when he comes, that I have some- 
thing of importance to communicate ; something 
which concerns him greatly.” 

Hart laughed, and said, — 

" Don’t attempt to relate any flimsy stories to 
him, Curtis ; it will do you no good.” 

" He can judge of the story himself, if he per- 
mits me to tell it.” 


122 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


"Well, here he is himself,” said Hart, and the 
same instant sounds of approaching footsteps 
struck on my ear. 

Hart greeted the new-comer, and the latter said, 
in a low tone, — 

" He ought not to be bound down in that man- 
ner. Give him the freedom of the cell, but place 
a guardsman at the door.” 

They approached me, and Hart began to un- 
fasten the cords with w T hich I was bound. He 
and his companion then assisted me to my feet, 
and conducted me to a bed a few feet away. It 
was, so far as I could judge in the utter darkness, 
the same bed that I had occupied previous to my 
escape. Evidently, I was back in my old cell. 

Hart told his companion that I had some infor- 
mation to impart, and the latter bade me speak 
out. I repeated the conversation that had taken 
place between Pabor and the sergeant. Both 
men listened in silence. After a while, Leete 
asked a few apparently unimportant questions, 
and then lapsed into silence again. 

At the end of several minutes, I said, — 

"I do not know whether what I have just 
related is of any consequence or not.” . 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


i23 


"It is of great importance to me,” Leete cried, 
cordially grasping my hand, "and I will repay 
you. I will do what I can to render your impris- 
onment as comfortable as possible.” 

" There is one favor I very much desire,” I 
eagerly cried, " I wish to see my wife.” 

"That cannot be granted you,” he said; and 
after a pause, he added, " neither would it be 
wise. She is in good health, is well treated; 
but I am told that she is exceedingly beautiful. 
We do not wish that fact to become known in 
certain circles. Therefore, we must be careful 
not to direct attention to her. Do not ask about 
her ; do not mention her name, except to those 
whom you can trust.” 

" Poor Alice ! ” I groaned. " It is true, then. 
I had hoped that the strange woman was mis- 
taken.” 

" Strange woman ! ” he exclaimed. " What 
woman have you seen ? ” 

" One who has been persecuted by the same 
monster who now threatens my poor wife.” 

" Leave us for a time, Hart,” Leete said ; and 
when the sounds of Hart’s footsteps were lost 
beyond the cell door, he took a seat beside me 


124 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


on the low bed, and asked, " Have you seen 
Sister Dudley? ” 

" I have no right to talk about any person whom 
I have seen,” I answered. " I do not wish to 
give information that might injure them.” 

He placed a hand on my arm, and in a low, 
strangely earnest tone said, "You must tell me 
what she said to you.” 

" I cannot ; I won her confidence by doing her 
a service, and I ought not betray her.” 

" A service ! ” he exclaimed. " What assistance 
did she need? Was she threatened with danger?” 

" From a conversation 1 overheard, I knew 
that a certain person intended to inform against 
her, for the sake of the re — ” 

" Who ? ” he cried, and his fingers closed upon 
my arm until I was hardly able to refrain from 
crying out. " What is the villain’s name ? ” 

" He is called Tracy,” I answered. 

His grasp instantly relaxed, and he seemed 
relieved ; but he remained silent. 

” Curtis,” he finally said, " I think you are wise 
in refusing to talk of Sister Dudley. Show the 
same discretion regarding me. Say nothing 
about this interview, and do not mention that you 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 125 


have ever met me. I will send Hart to you with 
food, and with any orders concerning you that 
may have come from headquarters.” 

He rose and walked away, and a few moments 
later Hart entered and placed a stone tray on the 
bed beside me. It contained a pitcher of water 
and a roll of sub. He told me that when I had 
finished the meal I must accompany him. Orders 
had been received to the effect that I must be 
given employment pending the trial. 

"When will the trial be held?” I asked. 

" Just as soon as Sister Curtis is well enough 
to be taken to court. You know, of course, that 
you cannot be tried separately.” 

" My poor wife, then, is still weak?” I said. 

" Between you and me, Curtis, she’s as well as 
you are. But you have some influential friend — 
Hill, perhaps — working to delay the trial as 
long as possible. He has induced Mother Russell 
and her assistants to enter a conspiracy, for the 
purpose of representing that Sister Curtis is too 
weak to be moved, when in reality she is as 
strong as any of us.” 

I had finished my simple meal, and he soon 
after departed, taking the tray with him. 


126 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


xm 

In less than thirty minutes he returned and 
asked if I was ready. I was. He conducted me 
from the cell, across the large circular hall to the 
entrance. • He spoke to the guard stationed here 
in a low tone, and then led me along at a rapid 
rate for fifteen minutes or more. The darkness 
was appalling. The harsh, grating sounds caused 
by the crushers were heard in all directions. 

Before we had proceeded far, I became con- 
scious that we were passing through the heart of 
a populous district. Apparently, there were 
hundreds of men, women, and children about us, 
chatting, laughing, or scolding, but in the main 
seemingly cheerful and contented. 

! They were, I judged, all engaged at some task 
or other, and they rushed about in the dense 
darkness with frightful recklessness. 

Several of them spoke to Hart, calling him by 
name, although I could not imagine how they 
recognized him, unless by the sounds of his foot- 
steps. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


127 


At the end of a half-hour’s brisk walk we 
halted, and Hart called out, "Here, Clark! 
Here ’s the partner I promised you.” 

He bade me remain where I was, while he 
spoke to Clark. They talked together in low 
tones for a few minutes ; then Hart came back to 
me, and said, " Curtis, Clark, here, will direct 
you about the work. You are to assist him.” 

" And do you remain, too? ” I asked. 

" Oh, yes,” he said, laughingly ; " I will stay, 
to prevent you from getting lost again.” 

I did not understand how I could labor to any 
advantage in that thick darkness, but I obeyed 
Clark’s instructions, and groped about the best I 
could. 

I soon discovered that we were working at a 
crusher, such as I have already described. With 
the aid of long levers we raised the huge flaf 
stone, and propped it up w T ith small stone blocks 
or " chips,” placed one above the other. When 
this was done, Clark went about with a small 
stone hammer, and lightly tapped the different 
sized bowlders that were scattered thickly around. 

When he had satisfied himself, that they were 
"ripe,” he called me to assist him in rolling them 


128 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


under the crusher. He placed the smaller ones 
near the base, the larger ones on the outer edge, 
where the force of the blow would be greatest. 
Having filled the space under the great stone, he 
procured a heavy hammer or sledge, made of 
stone. With this he hammered away the props 
that supported the crusher, and the ponderous 
stone fell, first grinding the small stones near its 
base, and then striking with a loud report on the 
larger ones that lay farther out. Then we imme- 
diately set to work to again elevate the crusher. 
When this was accomplished, we rolled out the 
" cracked stones ” and replaced them with others. 
We repeated the operation several times, contin- 
uing at it without stopping for about seven hours, 
at the end of which time Clark said the hour for 
the w second meal ’ had arrived. 

His food was brought to him by his wife ; mine 
was sent from the prison. 

We rested for a while after this meal, and 
Clark explained to me that the crusher had been 
hardened by the Sour process. It was so called 
because the secret was held by a man named Sour- 
joint. It was known as the Sourjoint process, but 
had been abbreviated to Sour process. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


129 


The crasher itself had been invented and the 
hardening process discovered by a man named 
Easter. He was a worthless fellow, always out 
of step, as it was termed, and seemed incapable 
of doing any good for himself or any one else. 
His wife died of neglect while he was working on 
his invention. Sourjoint was a good friend to 
him. He furnished Easter with the means to 
bring his invention into practical shape ; but 
Easter proved unmanageable, and Sourjoint was 
finally forced to throw him off, and secure the 
patents himself. 

Easter wandered up and down the valley, but 
never made the slightest effort to get into line and 
step with his plodding neighbors, upon whose 
charity he lived. 

His motherless boy was wholly neglected. He 
grew to manhood, and, as everybody expected, 
with his father’s shiftless habits. But, unlike his 
father, he refused to accept charity. He would 
neither work nor beg, but he joined the robber 
gang, and soon became their captain ; and was at 
that time, Clark said, the most skilful, daring, 
and most successful robber that had ever infested 
the haunts of honest men. 


130 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


There were many questions I desired to ask 
Clark, but he said it was time to resume work. 
Just then, loud and angry voices were heard a 
short distance away. I asked Clark what it 
meant. 

Trouble among the asses,” he answered. 

" Asses ! ” I exclaimed. " Those are human 
voices, surely.” 

Then he explained that Sourjoint permitted a 
small number of surs to remain in the neighbor- 
hood of each crusher. Sur, he said, was an 
abbreviation for surplus. The surplus population 
were called surs. They lived in another part of 
the valley, on a slightly lower level. Only those 
employed at the crushers and the hut holders 
were permitted to occupy the level where the 
crushers were located. But, as already stated, 
Sourjoint gave permission to a small number of 
surs to occupy the space about each crusher. 
Their nearness to the crushers gave them a great 
advantage, whenever there was a charge of the 
surs. Accidents frequently happened, which 
caused the death of one of the men employed at 
the crushers. On all such occasions the surs 
rushed wildly up from their valle}', each one 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


131 


among the thousands hoping that he would be the 
lucky one to obtain the place death had made 
vacant. 

" The few surs who were allowed to remain in 
the neighborhood of the crushers,” he said, " were 
called aspirants for place. But we call them 
asses, because, by remaining here, they* enable 
Sourjoint to make his own terms with us. We 
cannot object, while there are a half-dozen close 
at hand ready and anxious to take our places. 
The asses hold us back ; and yet they ought to 
know that they cannot advance a single step until 
we have first moved forward.” 

During the remainder of the turn we were 
engaged prying open the stones that had been 
cracked by the crusher. We used wedges, bars, 
and sledges of hardened stone for tools. In the 
heart of each stone we found a plate or cake of 
some soft substance. It was called raw gum, 
and was about the size of an ordinary dinner 
plate, but much thicker. 

Clark was an experienced hand, and being 
assisted by his wife and two children, he extracted 
the gum very rapidly. I made slow work of it, 
however. I groped about in the thick darkness 


132 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEYIL. 


slowly, awkwardly, and painfully, often bruising 
myself severely against the stones among which I 
labored. All that he extracted belonged to him ; 
the result of my labor was devoted to the support 
of the prison. 

We worked away steadily for fully six hours, 
when I ‘suddenly caught sight of a light moving 
about at a great distance. It moved a short dis- 
tance and stopped, doubtless near one of the 
crushers. After a time it moved on again, and I 
then perceived that it was followed by several 
other lights. 

At first I was puzzled ; but then I remembered 
that Clark had said that he expected Sourjoint. 
He visited the valley once a week, to buy up all 
the gum that had been extracted at the crushers. 

I watched the lights for some time, as they 
danced about from one place to another. They 
were apparently approaching us, and making 
frequent stops on the way. I soon after heard 
hoarse shouts and cries, which I supposed pro- 
ceeded from those carrying the lights. When 
Clark heard these cries, he said, " Sourjoint is 
coming ; we must carry our gum to the table.” 

The " table ” was a flat stone a short distance 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 133 


from the crusher. We arranged the gum on this 
table, Clark’s share at one end and mine at the 
other. Our task was hardly completed, when I 
perceived one of the lights approaching. The 
man who carried this light walked straight to the 
table ; he w 7 as followed by two other men without 
lights, who dragged a rude-looking ston£ wagon 
behind them. It was Sourjoint and his two 
attendants. 

Sourjoint was an old man, with a thin, sharp 
face, and small, restless eyes. He stood near his 
lamp, at the opposite side of the table, where he 
had deposited a long, narrow, leather case. When 
he opened this case I saw that it was filled with 
slender strips of a brownish colored substance. 
These strips were each a yard long, very thin and 
brittle, and covered from end to end with strange 
marks. These characters were called the " gen- 
eral’s stamp.” 

Sourjoint laid a few of these strips — yard- 
sticks, I mentally called them — beside him on 
the table. 

With one of these strips he began to measure 
the gum Clark had spread out before him. When 
he had measured one yard of gum, his attendants 


134 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEYIL. 


carried it from the table and placed it in the 
cart. The strip with which Sourjoint had meas- 
ured he then- proceeded to break into two parts. 
One of these parts, which was about twelve inches 
long, he placed on the table ; the other twenty- 
four-inch piece he dropped into a bag that he 
wore at his left side. The yardstick was also 
used as a medium of exchange, and the twenty- 
four inches which Sourjoint had placed in his bag 
was the quantity of exchange to which he was 
entitled for each yard of gum that he collected. 

Taking up the twelve-inch piece from the table, 
he divided it as follows : two inches for the 
support of the general and his staff, five inches 
for the support of the guardsmen,- two for the 
prisons, and one for the poor-houses. The two 
inches that remained constituted Clark’s share. 
He had just fifteen yards of gum, for which he 
was paid fifteen pieces of yardstick, each piece 
being two inches in length. 

The raw gum collected by Sourjoint was con- 
veyed up out of the darkness to the lighted plain 
above the valley, where it was prepared for 
consumption. 

The outside covering, or shell, as they called it, 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 135 


was stripped off, and when dried served for cloth- 
ing. The pulp, or inner substance, was formed 
into rolls about the size and shape of an ordinary 
banana, and was the food upon which these 
people subsisted. It had been named subsistence, 
but was commonly called sub. Clark, poor fel- 
low, strutted up and down between the table and 
the crusher, rattling the pieces of yardstick in 
his pocket, and doubtless feeling very proud and 
happy. 

Sourjoint, having finished his business, pro- 
ceeded toward the next crusher, and we were 
again left in utter darkness. 

But the other lights which I had seen in the 
distance, and which were evidently following 
Sourjoint, were coming rapidly toward us. The 
men carrying these lights seemed bent on making 
as much noise as possible. Some shouted at the 
top of their voices, some sang comic songs, 
and others danced and gesticulated wildly. Many 
of them had small pieces of flat stone fastened to 
the lower edge of their long shell garments, which 
rattled at every step ; others had these rattlers 
fastened to their arms, and a few wore them on 
their heads. 


136 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


" Here you are ! ” cried one ; " the softest, 
toughest, best, and most durable shell that ever 
was worn. The very piece from which the gen- 
eral’s uniform was made.” 

"Now, then; behold me !” another cried. 
" Sniggs ! The great Sniggs ! Caterer to the 
general ! The only vender of the only delicious 
brand of sub ! The Sniggs brand ! ” 

Clark seemed displeased because the venders 
had come so quickly after Sourjoint’s departure. 
He had, doubtless, counted on being able to 
feel the weight and hear the rattle of the fifteen 
pieces of yardstick in his pocket for an hour or 
so longer. 

But there was no help for him. The venders 
came down into the valley once a week only. He 
would not have another opportunity to procure a 
supply of food for the coming week. He signi- 
fied his willingness to patronize Sniggs ; and that 
gentleman quickly lifted a well-filled sack from 
his handcart, and placed it on the table upon 
which our gum had been measured awhile before. 

"How many shall you require, Brother Clark ? ” 
Sniggs asked. 

" I ’ll take four,” Clark loftily answered. 


The blind men and the devil. 137 


Sniggs placed four rolls of sub on the table, 
arranging them in a line, with their ends touch- 
ing. 

Clark laid down his fifteen pieces of yardstick 
in a straight line beside the string of rolls. The 
latter made a line thirty-two inches long ; and 
when Clark moved his hand along to the end of 
his line, he exclaimed, " I ’m about two inches 
short.” 

" Oh, that’s all right, Clark,” said Sniggs. 
"You can make it up next time.” 

Then he gathered up the fifteen pieces of yard- 
stick, and Clark seized the four rolls, and after 
turning them over and over in his hands several 
times, passed them to his wife. The blind 
woman stroked the rolls caressingly, and her 
two blind children, their pinched faces aglow with 
happiness, stretched up their little hands to fon- 
dle the precious sub. Then the woman walked 
out of the ring of light into the darkness to hide 
in some secure place their week’s supply of food, 
one roll for each member of the family. 

The prison authorities allowed me one roll a 
day, and I did not think myself overfed. 


138 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


XIV. 

Sniggs was preparing to follow the other vend- 
ers, who, on seeing Clark turn over all his yard- 
stick to Sniggs, had hurried on after Sourjoint to 
the next crusher. 

When Sniggs finally departed, taking his light, 
and leaving us in darkness once more, Hart 
approached, and said, " Leete is here, and we’ll 
take a walk ; he has something to say to you.” 

Leete joined us immediately after, and we 
walked on together. 

He explained that he had not time to see me 
during the marching turn, because he w r as on 
duty on the plain. He did not seem satisfied 
with himself. Evidently he had failed in some 
of his undertakings, for in a moment he added, 
" On the plain, where the criminals have eyes, 
while the guardsmen that hunt them are all 
blind.” 

After that, we proceeded in silence. Hart, with 
a hand on my arm, walked at my left side ; Leete 
was on my right. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 139 


Apparently, Leete had disagreeable news for 
me, which he hesitated to impart; but just as 
he seemed about to resume the conversation, we 
were startled by loud cries for help, coming from 
a short distance to the right of us. My compan- 
ions dragged me along rapidly through the dark- 
ness ; but before we had proceeded a dozen rods 
the cries ceased, and we heard voices a little 
farther on. The guardsmen instantly halted. 
There had been, evidently, a building or some 
other large object between us and the scene of 
the trouble, which had completely hidden from 
me the light that illumined the scene now before 
me. My eyes soon became accustomed to the 
light, which I saw was shed from a lamp held by 
Sourjoint. He stood a short distance away, his 
back toward us, and gazing at a group of per- 
sons gathered near a small hut a little way beyond 
him. There were two men, a woman, and a child. 
One of the men was lying on his back, between 
two large stones. Doubtless he had fallen there 
while carrying a large flat stone, which now lay 
squarely across his stomach. His wife and child 
had vainly endeavored to liberate him ; and the 
other man, whom I instantly recognized as old 


140 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


Tracy, had been attracted by the unfortunate 
man’s cries, and had come to his assistance. He 
seized hold of the stone, and with the woman’s 
help, rolled it from her husband’s prostrate form. 
Sourjoint uttered an exclamation of disgust, 
which attracted my companion’s attention. 

" That is Sourjoint,” Leete said, in a guarded 
tone ; " he has been deprived of a victim, and he 
is in a rage.” 

" Who is the other? ” Hart asked. 

" I think it is Tracy,” Leete replied, "but I’m 
not sure. I have n’t heard him speak but once, 
and then only a word.” 

My companions relied wholly on the sense of 
hearing. They did not suspect that I possessed 
the advantage of sight. They thought me blind, 
like themselves and all others in the valley. 
Nor did I think it wise to undeceive them. It 
might cause them to exercise a stricter watch 
over me, which I did not desire, for I still enter- 
tained hopes of escape. 

The man had risen to his feet, and his wife 
brought forth three rolls of sub, which she offered 
to Tracy. I knew the old man was hungry, but 
still he hesitated about taking the food. The 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


141 


woman and her husband, however, pressed it 
upon him, and expressed their gratitude for the 
service he had done them. 

Tracy walked slowly away with the three rolls, 
and Hart took a step forward, but Leete detained 
him, saying, in a low voice, " Sourjoint is still 
here. He is waiting for the next chance.” 

Leete’s ears had not deceived him. Sourjoint 
stood watching the man, who, with his wife and 
little son, had resumed work. 

The poor blind people did not suspect that they 
were in the full glare of a bright light, and that 
their every motion was closely watched by Sour- 
joint. 

They were building a stone hut. The walls 
were up, and the roof nearly finished. There 
was a pile of small, loose stones against one wall, 
which enabled the man to climb to the top of the 
wall, and with a flat roof-stone in his arms he 
struggled up, placed the slab in position, and 
then returned for another. He had made the 
journey several times without mishap, Sourjoint 
watching him closely in the mean time. But at 
last the opportunity for which Sourjoint had 
waited, came. The man stepped on a treacherous 


142 the Blind men and The devil. 


block, which rolled beneath his feet ; he struggled 
desperately, but was unable to save himself from 
falling, and a moment later he was pinned down 
on his back again, with the broad stone slab he 
had been carrying, lying across his stomach. He 
called loudly for help, and the woman and child 
ran to him. But they, unaided, could not relieve 
him of the stone ; it was too heavy for their 
strength, and they joined him in calling for help. 
Sourjoint hastened forward, and said, "Well, my 
poor fellow, you’re in a bad fix.” 

"Oh, sir,” the man cried, "roll this stone off; 
it is killing me.” 

" I ’m sorry,” Sourjoint answered, " but I can- 
not, I really cannot ; I ’m not strong.” 

" I ’ll give you five yards of gum, if you help me.” 

Sourjoint remained silent, and the man added, 
" I ’ll give you all the gum I have on hand.” 

"How much have you?” Sourjoint asked, 
quickly. 

"Thirteen yards,” the man answered, with a 
groan ; " thirteen yards, worth twenty-six inches.” 

Sourjoint made no reply, but began to stamp 
his feet, as if to lead the blind people to think that 
he was in the act of moving off. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 143 


" Don’t leave me. I ’ll accept any terms you 
may propose. But be quick ! This stone is 
crushing the very life out of me ! ” the man cried ; 
and his wife echoed his words, while both she 
and the child turned their faces toward Sourjoint, 
the tears streaming from their blind eyes. 

"But really, I can do nothing to help you,” 
said Sourjoint. " If you made it worth while, I 
might be able to find help somewhere in the 
neighborhood. How many yards of gum will 
you give me a week, for the next six months? ” 

" I get out only thirteen yards a week,” groaned 
the wretch. 

"On condition that I help you out of this 
trouble, will you pay me eight yards of gum a 
week, for a term of six months? ” 

The man writhed under the stone, and rolled 
his head in agony, but made no answer. 

Sourjoint stamped his feet again, as if walking 
off, and the prostrate man quickly cried out, 
" Yes, yes ! I ’ll agree to the bargain.” 

" You agree to pay me thirteen yards down, 
and eight yards a week for six months there- 
after?” 

" Yes,” he groaned. 


144 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


Sourjoint stepped forward quickly, raised the 
slab, and liberated the sufferer. 

" Come,” said Leete, in a low tone; " we’ll 
return to the prison by a circuitous route. I have 
much to say to you.” 

When we reached the other side of the build- 
ing, I commented on the scene we had just wit- 
nessed, and asked if Sourjoint was a member of 
the robber gang I had heard mentioned. 

My companions laughed, and Leete said, "That 
was not robbery ; it was business ’* ; and after a 
moment he added, " If Tracy had a little of Sour- 
joint’s business sagacity, he need never beg.” 

" But that other unfortunate man,” said I. 
" Why does he persist in carrying those heavy 
stones, v T hen he is aware of the danger? ” 

" He has his hut nearly finished,” Leete an- 
swered, " and the building of that hut has been 
his life work. He is now putting on the roof, 
which is the most trying and dangerous part of 
the undertaking. When the hut is built, the 
builder will die. Age and the hardships he has 
endured are beginning to tell upon him already. 
After working sixteen hours at the crusher, he 
hires a youth, a neighbor’s son, to keep his place 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


145 


for him at the crusher during the resting turn ; 
then he repairs to his hut, and works upon it 
while his neighbors sleep. He has followed this 
practice for years, and has compelled his wife and 
his children, from the time they begin to walk, to 
assist him. And now that the work is approach- 
ing completion, the worker’s end is also approach- 
ing. He will not live long after the hut is fin- 
ished.” 

" It will fall to his children when he dies, will 
it not ? ” I asked. 

" His children have deserted him ; all but the 
youngest,” replied Leete ; " his daughter is living 
with vile wretches ; one son has been executed 
for robbery, the other is now with the robbers.” 

" Well, he certainly did his best to keep them 
in line,” said Hart. " He is and always has been 
a very industrious man.” 

" His industry \yas misdirected,” Leete answered ; 
" it was directed toward hut-building. All his 
energies were bent to the task of building a hut, 
which will be finished the hour before his funeral. 
If he had labored half as hard to maintain his 
children in Hill’s brigade, he would have accom- 
plished something to be proud of.” 


146 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


" Hill’s brigade ? ” I repeated, inquiringly ; and 
Leete proceeded to explain that many parents, 
who could afford to dispense with their children’s 
labor, placed them in Hill’s charge for a certain 
number of hours each turn. Hill conducted the 
little ones to one end of the valley, and assisted 
them to climb to Observation Table. This table 
was a large, oblong space, perfectly level, and 
located at the summit of a very high eminence. 
The light upon the distant plain could be seen 
from this table. All the children have their eye- 
sight at birth, but the awful darkness in which 
they constantly live soon deprives them of the 
power of seeing. Those under Hill’s care are 
taken to Observation Table, and permitted to 
gaze at the distant light for several hours each 
turn. In this way their eyesight is preserved, 
and when they become young men and women 
they are fit candidates for the plain. 

I was filled with wonder at the strangeness of 
the whole affair, and also at the unselfishness of 
Hill, who thus devoted a large share of his time 
for the benefit of his neighbors’ children. I 
begged Leete to tell me more about Hill, but he 
said that he had something of more immediate 
importance to say to me. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


147 


" Prosecutor Little,” he said, " has decided to 
bring you to trial at the beginning of the next 
turn. He has become impatient at the delay 
caused by your wife’s inability to appear at court. 
She will be spared for the present. If you follow 
my advice the trial will end favorably, your life 
will be spared, and I have no doubt you will 
eventually gain your liberty.” 

"What do you wish me to do?” I eagerly 
cried. 

" Give information against your late compan- 
ions,” he replied. "Tell all you know about the 
robbers and their retreat.” 

"But I know nothing about them.” 

"Curtis,” he said, severely, "you cannot de- 
ceive me.” 

" It is no deception — ” I began ; but he stopped 
me, and continued, — 

" I have long suspected that you were one of 
Easter’s men. I am convinced now that my 
suspicions were correct.” Placing a hand on my 
arm, he added, "Sister Easter is in prison.” 

I did not start, as he evidently expected ; and 
for a moment he seemed disconcerted. But he 
quickly recovered, and resumed, — 


148 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


"The robber captain’s wife does not usually 
place herself in jeopardy for a trifle. Something 
serious is contemplated. No doubt an attempt to 
rescue is intended, but it will fail ; the guardsmen 
are vigilant ; a prisoner cannot be taken from them. 
Your only hope lies in following my advice ; in- 
form against the robbers, and save yourself.” 

"I have no information to give,” I said, firmly. 
" I know absolutely nothing of the people you 
call robbers.” 

"If you change your mind before we part, let 
me know,” he said, quietly; and then, in answer 
to a question from Hart, he added, " Sister 
Easter was brought to prison in the character of 
an old vagrant, but I accidentally jostled against 
her, which caused her to cry out. I recognized 
her voice ; I did not betray her, however. It 
was not my business.” 

Soon after this we halted, and Leete said, 
" We are at the prison. What is your answer 
now, Curtis?” 

" I have given it,” I replied. " I can give no 
other.” 

"Very well,” he said, abruptly, " I will leave 
you with Hart.” 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 149 


He grasped my hand, pressed it cordially, and 
then turned away. A moment later, however, I 
heard him call out in the darkness, — 

" Holloa ! Bradley ; what have you found ? ” 

" An old fellow, with a very uncivil tongue,” the 
guardsman answered. He was slowly Approach- 
ing us with his aged prisoner, Leete evidently fol- 
lowing. Suddenly there was the sound of some one 
falling, and the guardsman exclaimed, "Take care, 
Leete ! you ’ve knocked the old man down ! ” 

" Are you hurt, old man ?” Leete asked, eagerly, 
as he helped to lift the prisoner to his feet. But 
the latter made no reply beyond a groan, and as 
the guardsman went slowly forward with the old 
man, Leete muttered, "His tongue is as stiff and 
useless as his legs. I wanted to hear his voice, 
but no matter ; it ’s not my affair, and I must not 
interfere with the sergeant’s detail.” 

He walked away, and Hart led me on toward 
the prison. He conducted me past the guard, 
and to my cell. I sank upon the rude bed with- 
out removing even my shoes. I was greatly agi- 
tated, and did not feel inclined to sleep ; but after 
tossing about for an hour I finally sank into a deep 
slumber. 


150 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


XV. 

I was aroused by being roughly shaken. My 
cell was flooded with light from a lantern that 
stood near the bedside. A tall, muscular-looking 
guardsman was bending over me, and when I 
sprang to a sitting posture he quickly slipped a 
thick leather strap over my head and shoulders, 
and drew it tightly about me at the elbows, fast- 
ening my arms securely to my body. He mo- 
tioned me to be silent, and shook his murderous- 
looking club close to my head, intimating by 
signs that he would use it on me if I uttered a 
word. He was different from any of the guards- 
men whom I had met. They were, in the main, 
kind in manner and speech ; this one, on the con- 
trary, was fierce and menacing. He did not 
speak, nor would he permit me to speak. Could 
it be that he was deaf and dumb ? And then the 
horrible situation began to reveal itself. This 
man was the executioner ! He was a deaf-mute. 
To be able to speak to one’s executioner, and to 
hear his voice in response, would rob death of 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


151 


some of its terrors. But to suffer death at the 
hands of this silent giant, who could neither speak 
nor listen, seemed doubly dreadful. 

It was true I had been promised a trial ; but it 
was also true that I had been told that Prosecutor 
Little exercised almost absolute power. His acts 
were never questioned. He was cruel and re- 
vengeful. Perhaps he had discovered that the 
prison officials had conspired to delay the trial as 
long as possible ; or may be he was angered by 
my attempt to escape, and had ordered me exe- 
cuted without trial. 

The mute giant assisted me to rise, and as he 
led me from the cell he placed a finger warningly 
to his lips. It was then that it occurred to me 
that I had seen this man before. But where? 
For a moment I could not recall him ; and then I 
remembered that shortly after falling into the 
hands of these strange people, and wffiile being 
conveyed in the rude stone cart toward the 
prison, that this man had suddenly appeared with 
a bright light, and had stood and gazed, with a 
finger on his lips, at me and my captors. 

As he led me across the round room, I 
perceived at the farther side a man’s form 


152 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


stretched on the floor, and covered with a shell 
blanket. 

The giant halted at the main exit. The rays 
from his lamp fell upon the guardsmen, who 
moved swiftly and noiselessly up and down, just 
outside. * Suddenly there was a cry of distress 
a little distance off. The giant’s grip on my arm 
tightened, and he led me through the doorway, 
and halted just outside, and close to the wall. 
The light from his lamp illuminated the small 
court-yard, and I counted eleven guardsmen mov- 
ing swiftly to and fro between the prison door 
and the gateway in the wall beyond. The cries 
of distress had ceased, but an instant later were 
renewed. It was, however, a different voice that 
now called for help. It was the voice of the 
guardsman who at the first cry had rushed to the 
rescue. 

" Help ! help ! ” he cried. " Guards ! guards ! 
help ! comrades, help ! ” 

Six of the guardsmen rushed off into the dark- 
ness in the direction from whence the cries came. 
Hoarse shouts were heard, with oaths and curses 
and other sounds that betokened a fierce conflict. 

The guardsman’s voice could still be heard call- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


153 


in g to his fellow-guardsmen for assistance. He 
was evidently a prisoner, and was being rapidly 
dragged away by his captors. And then there 
came from the same direction a voice that rang 
out clearly above the din, — 

" Easter ! Easter ! ” From the right and the 
left and from all sides the cry was answered. It 
was the rally ing-cry of the robbers. They had 
made a descent upon the prison in great numbers, 
apparently had captured a guardsman, and were 
now collecting their forces and preparing to re- 
treat with their captive. 

The guardsmen who still remained in the prison 
yard waited no longer, but hastened away to 
join in the rescue of their unlucky comrade. 

When the last of them disappeared through the 
gateway into the darkness beyond, the grim giant 
conducted me across the narrow yard, through 
the gateway, and then turning sharply to the right 
hurried me on at a rate that taxed my powers to 
the utmost. 

As we proceeded I perceived that the small, 
round-roofed, stone huts were numerous in this 
direction. At the end of thirty minutes’ walk we 
entered what seemed to be a small village of 


154 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVllu 


these stone huts. It still lacked a few hours of 
the beginning of the marching turn, and the 
people of the village were not jet astir. 

The giant stopped before one of the huts, drew 
aside the curtain that hung in the doorway, and 
pushed me inside. The curtain fell back into its 
place, shutting out him and the light, and leaving 
me in total darkness. Did they intend to murder 
me in this darkness? If I had but one hand free, 
that I might grope about and examine the place ! 
I did not wish to remain just inside the door, 
where the giant had left me, and yet if I moved 
forward^ I might fall into some dreadful pit that 
had been prepared for me. I fancied that I 
detected a slight noise, as if some one entered 
through a door at the opposite side of the 
room. 

I determined to remain perfectly still and give 
them no clew as to my exact whereabouts, but the 
next instant something brushed lightly against my 
thigh ; a movement of my body had doubtless 
set in motion the dangling ends of the cord with 
which my arms were bound. I started violently, 
and the slight noise attracted the attention of the 
person at the other side of the room. 


The blind men and the devil. 155 


" Who is that ? ” cried a voice. " Is there any 
one there?” 

It was a woman’s voice, and sounded familiar ; 
I had certainly heard it before, but I believed it 
to be a trick to force me to disclose my where- 
abouts, and I remained silent. She was, or 
assumed to be, greatly frightened. She seemed 
to be gasping for breath, and to be groping along 
the wall, as if seeking for the door through which 
she had entered. Failing to find the door, she 
uttered a piercing shriek and fell to the floor. I 
stood irresolute. There were sounds of hurrying 
footsteps, and a moment later a man and woman, 
bearing a light, entered at the opposite side. 
The strong light dazzled me at first, but I was 
soon able to make out that the woman was Sister 
Dudley, and her companion the giant, who had 
left me a few moments before, but he was no 
longer dumb. He bent over the prostrate woman, 
exclaiming: — 

" Why, Sister Curtis ! What has happened ? ” 

At the mention of my wife’s name, I hastened 
forward, asking for an explanation. The giant 
turned toward me, saying, w Sister Curtis has 
swooned ; my wife will soon restore her to con- 


156 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


sciousness. In the mean time I will set you at 
liberty.” While unfastening the cords with 
which my hands were bound, he explained that 
he was Easter, the robber captain ; and that, with 
the assistance of his wife, he had rescued us from 
prison. By assuming the character of a vagrant, 
his wife had succeeded in gaining access to the 
female prison, and in a similar manner he had 
secured admittance to the male department. By 
a prearranged plan a squad of his men had man- 
aged to draw the guardsmen from the prison, and 
the rescue was, therefore, easily accomplished. 
There was no time for explanations at the prison, 
and he had decided to carry me off by force. He 
had placed me in this hut, with my hands still 
bound, knowing that my wife would join me, and 
deliver me from the cords. But, instead of 
releasing me, she became frightened when she 
discovered my presence, and failing to find the 
door through which she had entered the hut, had 
fallen to the floor in a swoon. 

Having released my arms, he was about to con- 
duct me to Alice, over whom Sister Dudley was 
still bending, and endeavoring to bring back to 
consciousness. As we approached, Sister Dudley 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


157 


arose, and answering my bow with a haughty 
inclination of the head, turned to Easter, and 
said, — 

" Sister Curtis will be fully recovered in a few 
moments. Shall we not leave them together, 
while we are perfecting our plans?” 

Easter assented ; and, after assuring me that he 
would soon return, followed her from the hut, but 
with kind thoughtfulness left his lamp with me. 

I sat down beside my wife, and drew her head 
upon my breast. She moaned, opened her eyes, 
and with a cry of fright struggled to rise ; but the 
sound of my voice quickly reassured her, and, 
overcome with weakness, she sank back into my 
arms. 

When the first ecstasy of our reunion was over, 
Alice related all that had happened to her since 
our capture. Mother Russell and the other 
female attendants of the prison had been very 
kind. 

"A man named Hill,” she said, "had great 
influence with Mother Russell, and he not only 
persuaded her to give me every attention, but he 
also induced her to report at headquarters that I 
was very ill, even after I had fully recovered. 


158 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


He knew that the trial would take place as soon 
as I was fit to appear in court, and he desired to 
delay it as long as possible. He has a theory 
that there are other processions besides this one, 
but the people here do not believe him. They 
believe that they constitute the entire population 
of the world. Hill bases his belief in the exist- 
ence of other processions on certain signs which 
he has discovered, and which prove, he says, that 
some time in the remote past this procession was 
attacked by another powerful procession. When 
the men at the head of this procession — the men 
on the heights and the plain — saw the other 
procession approaching, they purchased great 
quantities of sub, enough to last them for a long 
time, and fled to a place of safety. But the great 
mass of the people down here in the valley could 
not buy a month’s supply of food in advance. 
They could never get a supply ahead, and there- 
fore they could not fly from the danger. But 
they rallied around the food-bearing stones and 
the crushers, and fought to defend them. They 
risked limb and life in defence of the wealth of 
the procession ; and when the conflict was over 
and the danger passed, the men of the plain and 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 159 


the heights returned and resumed their places at 
the head of the line. Hill is very anxious to 
prove that his theory is correct. At present it is 
not believed. Mother Russell, however, believes 
it ; she thinks Hill a wonderful man. When he 
examined the clothing worn by us when we fell 
into this dreadful place, he immediately con- 
cluded that we came from some other procession, 
because there is no material here from which 
such garments could be made. He has done 
everything in his power to delay the trial until he 
could have our garments scientifically examined. 
With our aid he then hopes to prove the existence 
of at least one other procession.” 

"What will he gain by that?” I asked. 

"Glory,” Alice answered, with a smile. 
" Mother Russell says that he labors as hard and 
sacrifices as much as any of his neighbors, who 
are devoting their lives to the accumulation of 
little fragments of flat stone, which they call 
inches. He is striving to establish his theory, so 
that future generations will remember him and 
profit by his discovery. I believe, however, that 
he has another motive. By keeping his mind 
busily engaged he forgets, in a measure, the great 


160 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


grief that has darkened his life. Have you heard 
his story ? ” 

" No,” I answered ; " it seems that the women 
in the female prison were more communicative 
than the men who had charge of me.” 

"Mother Russell was very kind,” Alice said, 
"and she never tired of talking about Hill, partly 
to please herself, but chiefly, I thought, to enter- 
tain me. It seems that several years ago the 
Dudleys lived on the plain. They were among 
the richest and most respectable people there. 
The family consisted of Mr. Dudley and his two 
daughters, Ella and Ida. The girls were twins, 
and were wonderfully alike in form and feature, 
but in all other respects differed widely. Ella 
was a quiet, timid, sweet-tempered girl ; Ida, on 
the contrary, was wilful, daring, reckless, and 
fond of adventure. About this time Easter’s 
name was in every one’s mouth. He had joined 
the robbers a year before, and they made him 
their captain. His eyesight gave him a great 
advantage over the guardsmen as well as over his 
own followers. Besides, he possessed herculean 
strength and great courage and skill. He soon 
became a terror to all the people of the plain. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


161 


He never raided the valley ; he made friends of 
the inhabitants of the valley at every opportunity. 
There were on the plain a few youths and maid- 
ens, who saw only the romantic side of his life. 
They idolized him. Ida Dudley was among the 
number. Easter often visited the plain, in defi- 
ance of the guardsmen. He met Ida Dudley. 
She made no attempt to conceal her admiration of 
him. They met frequently, and at last they were 
married, and she fled with him to the outlaw’s 
camp. It was a severe blow to the Dudleys. 
They felt the disgrace keenly, and soon after took 
up their abode in a distant quarter of the plain, 
among strangers, to whom their bereavement was 
unknown. Ella’s beauty and accomplishments 
attracted many admirers in their new home. 
There were two, in particular, who were frequent 
visitors at the house. Their names were Little and 
Hill. The former was a small, pompous man. He 
had been appointed public prosecutor a short time 
before, and was believed to be the most influential 
man in the whole processiou. Hill, an unassum- 
ing, low-voiced gentleman, proved the success- 
ful suitor. The day was named, and preparations 
for the wedding were being made, when Ida sud- 


162 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


denly made her appearance. She was happy with 
her outlawed husband, and had come merely to 
visit her friends. Ella and her father were over- 
whelmed with dismay. Their new neighbors did 
not know of Ida’s existence. When the situation 
was explained to Ida, she said that she would 
depart immediately. Her husband was in the 
neighborhood, and she would join him and never 
again appear on the plain. Unfortunately, Hill 
was approaching the house just at that moment. 
He observed a muscular-looking stranger pacing 
up and down near the Dudley residence. He 
turned toward the house just as Ida emerged from 
it. She advanced rapidly toward the street. As 
I have said, the sisters were marvellously alike 
in appearance. Hill supposed that it was Ella 
who approached, and he advanced smilingly 
toward her. Ida had never seen him before. 
She swept haughtily past, joined her husband, 
and they hurried away together. Poor Hill ! 
He staggered away, and the Dudleys never saw 
him again. They would, doubtless, have sought 
him and explained matters, if they had not been 
immediately overtaken by another great misfor- 
tune. Prosecutor Little was informed that the 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEYIL. 


163 


robber captain had been seen leaving Dudley’s 
house in company with Ella Dudley. He was, no 
doubt, overjoyed at the opportunity given him to 
be revenged for the rebuff he had received from 
Ella. He procured an order for the arrest of 
herself and father, and for the confiscation of 
their property ; but the Dudleys were warned by 
a friend, and they fled to the valley, where they 
still live.” 


XYI. 

Before I could ask the questions which the 
story had prompted, there were sounds of ap- 
proaching footsteps, and a moment later Easter 
and his wife entered. I now knew that the 
woman was his wife, and not Sister Dudley, as I 
had supposed. Easter apologized for disturbing 
us, but said that they had decided on a plan 
which must be put into execution without delay. 

The Dudleys would be asked to give my wife 
shelter, and I would be taken to a secure place on 
the plain. 


1 04 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


"We will be separated again,” I said, sorrow- 
fully. 

"There is no help for it,” he replied. "Your 
safety depends upon the plan we have chosen.” 

When I expressed my gratitude and wonder at 
the interest they exhibited in strangers, he inter- 
rupted me, and said that it was his wdfe’s affair. 
" She wishes to discharge a little of the debt she 
owes you.” 

The woman’s face softened, as, turning from her 
husband to me, she said, — 

"You informed me of the threat old Tracy had 
made against the Dudleys. You had seen Sister 
Dudley, and when I appeared you naturally mis- 
took me for her. You remember your astonish- 
ment at finding that the supposed Sister Dudley 
had forgotten you and all that you had related to 
her a few moments before. The fact that you 
could see, were clever enough to escape from 
prison, and had manifested a friendliness for the 
persecuted Dudleys, determined me to conduct 
you to our camp, where you would find safety ; 
but when I returned, I discovered that you had 
been recaptured by the guardsmen. We found 
your lantern near the place in which I had left 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


165 


you. In the mean time my husband had decided 
to retire from business, and take the exalted place 
in the procession to which he is entitled by reason 
of his wealth, but he craved for one more adven- 
ture before he abandoned the old life, and he 
determined to attempt your rescue.” 

Alice joined me in expressing our deep grati- 
tude for the service they had rendered us. 

Easter, however, checked us, and said there 
must be no further delay ; that we must act at 
once. 

Taking the lantern from the floor, he led the 
way through the door by which they had entered 
a short time before. This door led into another 
and much larger stone hut. Huge masses of 
broken stones piled against its outer walls con- 
cealed this hut completely from the view of any 
person who might chance to pass with a lantern. 

The room in which we now found ourselves 
was small, and evidently was one of the half-dozen 
rooms into which the larger hut was divided. 

Easter stood in the centre of the room, while 
his wife crossed to the opposite wall, upon which 
she knocked cautiously. 

She was answered from within, and after 


166 TftE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


exchanging a few words with the person behind 
the wall, she motioned us to advance. At the 
same instant an opening appeared in the seem- 
ingly solid wall. A thick curtain was drawn 
aside, revealing a richly furnished and brilliantly 
lighted room beyond. We followed Sister Easter 
into this room. 

An old man stood erect at the farther side, his 
arms folded on his breast, and his eyes fixed 
on us. 

Taking Alice by the hand, the robber’s wife 
advanced a few steps, and said, — 

" Father, Sister Curtis seeks an asylum ; she is 
a fugitive. Will you give her a shelter?” 

"A fugitive from justice?” he said, in a slow, 
measured way. " And why am I expected to aid 
in thwarting the ends of justice?” 

" Not a fugitive from justice,” said his daughter, 
with some vehemence ; " she seeks protection 
from the villain who has ruined you, and who 
still pursues my sister. He pursues this poor- 
girl also ; she has, therefore, a claim upon your 
sympathy.” 

"But I cannot protect all whom he persecutes,” 
the old man answered; "besides, he is an officer 


the blind men and the devil. 167 


of the law, and I cannot conscientiously interfere 
with him.” 

"It is fortunate for you, Father Dudley, that 
others are not equally scrupulous,” Easter said, 
passionately, as he stepped forward to his wife’s 
side. "The officers have often been intercepted 
in your behalf.” 

"Yes, yes,” the old man slowly and gravely 
replied; "it was hardly necessary, though, to 
remind me that I owe my safety to you.” 

"No; not to me,” Easter quickly said. "I 
could not have protected you as effectually as it 
has been done. You have a friend in official 
circles ; he is more than a friend, he has been 
your guardian angel ever since that hour when 
you fled from the plain. Did you think that it 
was all owing to an accident that the guardsmen 
were all removed from your neighborhood when 
you began preparations for flight? And how 
do you account for the fact that your powerful 
and vindictive enemy has failed to find you 
during all these years ? ” 

" Hill, I — ” the old man began ; but Easter inter- 
rupted him with an impatient gesture, and said, — 

" Hill believes that you are dead. He is labor- 


168 .THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


ing for the good of the procession as a whole, and 
has no time to devote to the individual atoms of 
which it is composed. Your protector is one who 
stands high in the councils of the procession ; he 
conceals, as far as possible, the great power he 
possesses. He has had himself placed near your 
enemy, in the character of a common guardsman, 
ostensibly to protect him, but really to watch 
him, and frustrate his designs against you. You 
can surmise how well he has succeeded ; even 
now he has on foot a mighty scheme, which, if 
it succeeds, will greatly benefit you and yours. 
If it fails, it will ruin him forever. After he has 
served his regular hours, like his fellow-guards- 
men, and while they sleep, he labors to perfect 
his plans. He dares not sleep nor rest ; he labors 
incessantly, and through it all he is inspired and 
sustained by a desire to make your daughter 
and you happy.” 

"Who is he? Who is this unknown bene- 
factor?” the old man eagerly cried. 

V Ask Ella,” answered Easter ; " she must 
know. She must have recognized the strong 
hand that has so often shielded her ; surely her 
heart must have divined the truth long ago.” 


The blind men and the devil. 


169 


He had hardly ceased speaking, when a curtain 
at the opposite side of the apartment was drawn 
back, and as Ella stepped forth from an inner 
room, she asked, " Who calls for Ella?” 

"I, sister,” answered the robber’s wife, advan- 
cing, and leading Alice by the hand ; " Sister 
Curtis seeks shelter and protection.” 

With a little cry of surprise and joy, Ella 
sprang forward and kissed and embraced my wife 
warmly, and with an arm encircling her waist, 
conducted her before Father Dudley. 

"Dear father,” she cried, "you will not refuse 
this sweet girl the shelter and protection of our 
home? It was her kind husband, you remem- 
ber, that warned me of Tracy’s evil designs.” 

She gave me a bow and smile of recognition, 
and also acknowledged Easter’s presence with 
a bow. 

"It shall be as you desire, my daughter,” the 
old man said, after a pause. 

" That matter is settled,” said Easter, address- 
ing me in a low voice ; "you must now take hur- 
ried leave of your wife, and prepare to accompany 
me ; we must be at our destination before the 
beginning of the marching turn.” 

o o o 


170 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


His voice recalled me to myself. I had been 
lost in contemplation of the two sisters, who, 
with my wife and the old man, formed a group a 
little distance away. The strong light shone full 
upon them, and, although they closely resembled 
each other in form and feature, a strange differ- 
ence was plainly perceptible as they stood there 
side by side. 

The sweet, melancholy Ella appeared timid, 
shrinking, and ready to fly at the first sign of 
danger. Her sister was erect, fearless, and 
haughty. The knowledge of her power and 
independence had given to the outlaw’s wife the 
bearing of a queen. A sense of security against 
life’s commonest and least important needs gives 
even the outlaw a superior bearing. 

Easter’s words reminded me that I must say 
good by to Alice, and prepare to resume the 
journey. I had taken a step toward her, when 
he suddenly placed a hand on my arm and 
detained me. The same instant a long, low 
whistle was heard outside. Easter listened a 
moment, and then turning to the company, he 
said, " Friends, we must leave you abruptly ; 
your safety, as well as ours, demands it.” 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


171 


Alice sprang toward us ; I caught her in my 
arms ; and strained her to my breast for a brief 
instant; then tearing myself away, I followed 
Easter. He led me through the outer hut, at 
the door of which a man was waiting for us. 

" Well ? ” Easter asked. 

" The guardsmen are unusually active,” the 
other answered ; " they are assembling near the 
broken crusher. J fear they are preparing to 
descend upon this hut.” 

"That cannot be ; you must be mistaken, Lieu- 
tenant ; nothing has happened that would direct 
suspicion to this place.” 

" I hope that you are right, Captain, but I have 
reason to fear otherwise. I will soon know, how- 
ever. Sneath is among them, and he will report 
to me when he has discovered their plans.” 

" And if your suspicions that they intend to 
raid this hut prove correct, will you attack and 
disperse them?” 

"No, indeed,” the lieutenant replied; "we will 
surround and capture them. Those who wish to join 
us, may do so ; the others must remain prisoners.” 

"Very good, Lieutenant; you deserve to be 
captain, and you soon will be.” 


172 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


"And you, Captain? What will you be when 
I ’m captain, — general ? ” 

"No; I’ll retire, and live on the fruits of a 
life of enterprise and industry. But I must not 
remain here to interfere with your plans, Lieu- 
tenant, nor to further jeopardize Curtis’s safety. 
Send Fox to me as quickly as possible. He ’ll 
find me near Busche’s hut.” 

He conducted me to a hut a short distance 
away, and drew me close up against its walls. 
"Fox will soon join us,” he said; " he will take 
you to the chamber ; it would be dangerous for 
you to be seen on the plain in my company. 
Besides, I shall be needed here.” 

" And this chamber,” I asked ; " how long must 
I remain there ? ” 

"I greatly fear that you will not be permitted 
to remain there very long,” he said. "There is 
something unusual on foot. Little must have 
offered great rewards, or made dire threats. The 
guardsmen are certainly unusually active. But I 
hope that you will find safety there until we can 
discover a better retreat. I cannot send you to 
our camp, because I do not intend to ever again 
return to it myself. If Leete could only bring his 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


173 


undertaking to a successful end, your prospects 
would brighten greatly ; I fear, though, that he 
will fail. He needs the support of some very 
influential person. It is not probable that he can 
enlist the general’s sympathies ; and yet there is 
no other person in the procession powerful enough 
to give him the assistance he requires.” 

"The general ! ” I exclaimed ; " is he powerful? 
I thought Sourjoint was regarded as more powerful 
than the general, or any one else. The people here 
are constantly talking about him ; they seldom men- 
tion the general. They take their law from Sour- 
joint ; he permits them to go here or there as he 
chooses, and I supposed that he ruled the valley.” 

"That is very true, Curtis; though I had not 
thought of it. Sourjoint owns the crushers ; he 
controls the means upon which the people of the 
valley depend for subsistence. If they displease 
him, he can deprive them of the right to live. 
He is the real ruler of the valley, and through 
the people of the valley, the ruler of the whole 
procession. Sourjoint is the one, after all, to 
whom Leete should apply for assistance.” 

I asked the nature of the undertaking in which 
Leete was engaged. 


174 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


" Never mind, for the present,” he said. "Fox 
is approaching, and you must accompany him 
without further delay. He will conduct you to 
Stodel, who is the chief among the servants of 
the chamber, and is a particular friend of mine. 
He will arrange it so that you can assume the 
character of a servant of the chamber. But you 
must never for an instant forget that you are a 
mute. The chamber is well lighted ; you can- 
not, therefore, conceal the fact that you have good 
eyes. But you must not speak, on any occasion. 
It is by the sound of your voice that the blind 
guardsmen will seek to detect you. Remember 
this, and be discreet in all other respects, and you 
may yet escape.” 

At that moment a man approached, whom 
Easter addressed as Fox. 

He gave him instructions about conducting me 
to Stodel, and added, — 

"Do not try to talk to him, Fox ; he is a mute.” 

"Poor man ! ” mused Fox, as he led me away ; 
"and we sometimes complain, who are afflicted 
with nothing worse than blindness.” 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 175 


XVII. 

My companion did not carry a lantern. It 
would be no service to him. He was blind. 
With a hand on my arm, he led me on through 
the thick darkness in silence. At the end of a 
two hours’ rapid walk, he suddenly stopped. I 
put out my hand, and discovered that we were 
standing before a wall. 

" Ho, there!” he shouted. "The guard! The 
guard ! ” 

"Enter guard,” answered a voice. The heavy 
curtain which closed the doorway was drawn 
aside, and a flood of light gushed forth. The 
brilliant light dazzled me, and it was several 
minutes before I could use my eyes. 

My blind companion, however, was not affected 
by the bright light. 

Having conducted me through the doorway in 
the wall, — this wall was evidently the line which 
separated the plain from the valley, — he led me 
on as briskly as before. 

When my eyes became somewhat accustomed 


176 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


to the light, I perceived that we were passing 
along a broad street. The houses, or stone huts, 
which were numerous in that quarter, did not 
border the street in straight lines, but stood in 
clusters here and there. 

The street under our feet was stone, rough and 
uneven ; the open spaces between the clusters of 
huts were stone ; the whole aspect was hard and 
stony-looking. Even the shell garments worn by 
myself and companion were stone-colored, as 
were also those worn by the few persons whom 
we met ; and I fancied that the faces of the latter 
bore a hard, stony expression. 

My blind conductor still retained his grasp 
upon my arm, and led me on at a brisk walk. 
At the end of five minutes or so, we approached a 
long, low, stone building. It was of one story, 
and its front entrances, of which there were fully 
a score, were in constant use, streams of people 
passing in and out continually. 

We passed around to the single rear entrance, 
and my companion entered, and asked for Stodel. 

The man whom he addressed called out, "A 
guardsman wishes to see Stodel ! ” 

I knew that, as a matter of precaution, the rob- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


177 


ber had assumed the character of a guardsman 

© 

while on the plain. 

Stodel was found, and, after a few moments’ 
conversation with Fox, he led us to a table-, and 
commanded an assistant to bring us a dish of 
sub and a pitcher of water. He seemed un- 
easy, and told Fox that he feared that he could 
not be of much service to Easter. 

"I never before knew the guardsmen to be so 
eager and active,” he said. "They are every- 
where. There are four of them here in disguise, 
serving as assistants to me.” 

When Fox had satisfied his hunger, he took his 
leave. Stodel told me to remain at the table, 
and rest for the present. 

The table at which I was seated was at one end 
of the vast hall, and my position afforded me an 
excellent view of the place. It was brilliantly 
lighted by lamps that were fastened to the walls 
and suspended from the roof of the building. 
There were four rows of tables, reaching the 
entire length of the great hall. There were 
about four hundred tables altogether. These 
tables were made of stone, as were also the seats 
pear them. The latter, though, were well covered 


178 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


with shell or leather blankets. The tables were 
constantly in use, the patrons of the place going 
and coming continually. Stodel’s assistants waited 
on the guests. Stodel himself was general man- 
ager of this vast dining-hall, or chamber, as it 
was generally called. 

This chamber had been established a few years 
before by the professional men who lived on the 
plain, and they were its best patrons. The cir- 
cumstances which led to its establishment were 
somewhat singular. 

The great majority of people on the plain were 
called traders. They purchased the raw gum 
which Sourjoint brought up from the valley. 
They separated this into sub and shell, which 
they prepared and made fit for consumption, and 
sold to all willing to buy from them. They sold 
the prepared sub and shell to the men on the 
heights, the plain, and in the valley, but their 
chief market was in the valley. There were but 
twenty regiments altogether on the plain and 
heights, the other eighty regiments being in the 
valley. They depended, therefore, chiefly on the 
valley men. Thesfc valley men were employed 
at the crushers, extracting gum from the stones 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


179 


which contained it. The pieces of yardstick 
that they received from Sourjoint, in exchange 
for this gum, they gave to the traders in exchange 
for the necessaries of life — sub and shell. 

The surs — those who could not get places at 
the crushers — lived in a quarter of the valley 
which was slightly lower than that occupied by 
the men at the crushers. 

The surs received assistance from charitable 
persons, and managed to live, somehow or other. 
Nobody ever knew just how they lived. But 
they w T ere eager for employment, and were con- 
stantly begging Sourjoint to give them places at 
his crushers, that they might earn enough to feed 
themselves and their families. They promised 
that if he allowed them to operate the crushers, 
they would sell him gum cheaper than it had ever 
been sold before. 

This enabled Sourjoint to give the men em- 
ployed at the crushers less and less. "He was 
constantly shortening the pieces of yardstick 
w 7 hich he gave them for their gum. He often 
cut off the stick at both ends. Thus, while the 
needs of the valley men were yearly increasing, 
their purchasing power was steadily diminishing. 


180 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


As a consequence, the traders found on each 
succeeding trip into the valley that there was less 
and less demand for their goods. The people 
needed the goods ; they were suffering for them ; 
and the traders were anxious to sell, but the 
medium of exchange was lacking ; the people did 
not have it. The traders themselves often suf- 
fered severely because of their inability to dispose 
of their goods. 

And to make matters worse for the traders, 
new men were constantly crowding in to compete 
with them. Every year men came up from the 
valley to engage in trade. The plain was always 
well lighted, its huts were more comfortable than 
those of the valley, and anything was better than 
breaking stones in the impenetrable darkness of 
the valley. 

It frequently happened that after a few months’ 
experience, the new-comers were forced to return 
to the valley in despair ; but they usually re- 
mained on the plain long enough to injure the old 
traders by their competition. And sometimes the 
new-comers — especially if they were graduates 
from Hill’s Table of Observation — succeeded in 
establishing themselves firmly in trade, crowding 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


181 


out some of the old traders ; in which case, the 
latter went sorrowfully to the valley to break 
stone, or, what was worse, to join the surs. 

This sharp and unceasing competition demoral- 
ized trade ; and consequently, many of the traders, 
instead of training their sons to be traders, sent 
them off to be fitted for the professions, which 
soon became overcrowded with incompetent men. 
Men who would have made excellent traders or 
stone-breakers became lawyers and doctors, and 
were an injury and disgrace to the professions, 
and no benefit to themselves or any one else. 

The honest, self-respecting physicians held fre- 
quent conferences, seeking to discover means by 
which the honor and dignity of their profession 
micfht be maintained. 

"Do you know,” Dr. Gilbert said, at one of 
these conferences, "that while people imagine all 
sorts of queer things, they never imagine that 
they need medicine when they do not need it? A 
man may imagine that his leg is broken, or his 
shoulder dislocated, but when the surgeon comes 
and finds no bones broken, he says so. He pro- 
nounces it a case of simple imagination. But no 
physician has ever yet found a person who im- 


182 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


agined himself sick when he was not. There is 
no instance on record of any physician refusing 
to dose a patient when called in for that purpose. 
The fact is, we doctors prescribe when asked 
to do so, whether we find the person sick or well. 
And it is not our fault. We must live. A few 
of the best known members of the profession get 
all the _ practice here on the plain and on the 
heights. The rest of us are dependent on the 
people of the valley. And the people of the 
valley do without us as long as possible. They 
can’t afford to buy medical advice. They can 
hardly afford to buy food. The majority of us do 
not get enough practice. Hence, when we get a 
chance, we take it. We sit down gravely and 
prescribe, whether the person is sick or well, and 
often when we know nothing whatever of the 
nature of the ailment. Necessity drives us to it.” 

The lawyers were no better off. They, too, 
were holding conferences, seeking to find means 
by which they could maintain the honor and dig- 
nity of the legal profession. 

Lawyer Niles said that unless something was 
done, the time would come when lawyers would 
not be admitted to decent society ; that there 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


183 


would yet be organizations formed within the 
procession that would proscribe lawyers. "Ten- 
tacles are a disgrace to us,” he said, "and there 
are many lawyers who employ tentacles.” 

Tentacles was the name given to men who were 
employed by some lawyers to seek out aggrieved 
persons, and urge them to prosecute, when they 
seemed otherwise inclined. 

But neither the lawyers nor doctors accom- 
plished anything until after the water-carriers’ 
outrage had been perpetrated. 

Four men had formed themselves into a com- 
pany for the purpose of supplying the procession 
with water. Previous to the formation of this 
company, each family had procured its own sup- 
ply of water from the neighboring lake. The 
company laid pipes from this lake to the huts, 
and thus supplied the people with all the water 
required, and the people paid them a stated num- 
ber of inches per year. 

The water-carriers were doing a fair business, 
but they desired to do better. They feared, how- 
ever, that if they charged higher rates, other 
companies would be formed to compete with them. 
They determined to persuade the people to give 


184 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


them the lake, after which there would be no fear 
of competition. 

To accomplish this, they hired all the idle law- 
yers whom they could induce to enter their ser- 
vice, and paid them extraordinary fees. These 
lawyers went among the people, and persuaded 
them that it would be a great advantage to the 
procession if the water-carriers could be induced 
to take the lake, and guarantee to furnish w T ater 
at " reasonable ” rates. 

The people voted the lake to the carriers. 

The decent members of the legal profession 
were filled with deep disgust and indignation at 
the conduct of their brother lawyers. 

They immediately appointed a committee to 
confer with the doctors. The joint conference 
concluded that when all members of the two pro- 
fessions were insured against hunger and want, 
the necessity of resorting to disgraceful practices 
would be removed. 

They soon after established the chamber, and 
all lawyers and doctors were pledged to patronize 
it. Any person willing to pay could procure 
food in the chamber, or immense dining-hall ; but 
the doctors and lawyers were pledged to patron- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 185 


ize it, and pay the unusually high prices, with the 
understanding that any member of either profes- 
sion who could not pay, would be given food 
without charge. 

" No doctor nor lawyer need fear hunger,” said 
the projectors of the scheme, "and, therefore, 
there will be no excuse for resorting to unprofes- 
sional conduct.” 


XVIII. 

I remained at the table where Stodel had left 
me, and watched the guests who came and went. 
One of StodeFs blind assistants came and sat 
beside me. I took no notice of him at first, 
but I soon perceived that he cautiously stretched 
forth a hand, and with his thumb and finger fast- 
ened on the sleeve of my gown, seemed to care- 
fully examine its texture. He soon after arose 
and walked away. 

My gown had been given me while I was in 
prison, and it occurred to me that perhaps the 
prisoners’ gowns were of different texture from 


186 the blind men AND THE DEVIL. 


those usually worn. And this fellow might be a 
guardsman in disguise. 

My first thought was to seek Stodel, and ask 
his advice. But the next instant I remembered 
that I had assumed the character of a mute. 

While I was still undecided, I saw Stodel 
approaching. He sat down beside me, and in a 
low tone said, — 

"I have sent a messenger to Easter, informing 
him that this is not a safe place for you. I had 
hoped, however, that I could protect you until 
the messenger’s return. But I am now convinced 
that it is not safe for you to remain an instant 
longer. One of the guardsmen, who was here in 
the disguise of a waiter, has departed suddenly. 
I ’m sure that he has made some discovery.” 

He arose, and signing me to follow, led the 
way to the rear entrance. 

Pausing in the doorway, he said, — 

" I would advise you to return to the valley as 
quickly as possible. They have discovered that 
you are on the plain, and the quicker you leave, 
the better.” 

He pressed my hand warmly, and then turned 
and entered the chamber. 


TIU3 BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


i si 


I quickly crossed the open space that separated 
the chamber from the nearest cluster of huts, 
and then proceeded more slowly. I feared to 
attract suspicion by too much haste. 

After I had proceeded a quarter of a mile or 
more, I suddenly recalled that the street by which 
I had approached the chamber, when under Fox’s 
guidance, terminated at the front entrance to the 
chamber ; while the street which I now followed 
led straight back from its rear entrance. I must, 
therefore, be pursuing a course which led away 
from the valley, instead of toward it. Doubtless 
I was on the road to the heights. But I decided 
not to turn back. Anywhere was safer than the 
plain just now. 

The whole place was brilliantly illuminated by 
large lamps attached to the roofs and sides of the 
huts. 

There were a few women and children to be 
seen near some of the huts ; the men, no doubt, 
had gone to the trading quarter. 

The road which I followed led me out of the 
thick of the village, and soon after I found my- 
self climbing a rather steep ascent. 

An hour’s climbing brought me to another 


188 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


level, on which there was also a village. This 
was, evidently, the place usually designated the 
heights. The village here was smaller than the 
one on the plain, but resembled it closely in 
other respects. It was lighted in precisely the 
same manner. 

Beyond the village, I perceived that there rose 
another ascent much steeper than the one that I 
had just ascended. The roof of the cavern could 
be seen over the village, and for the first time I 
obtained a clear idea of the strange situation. 

The procession was at a stand-still on the side 
of a great mountain. The main body of the pro- 
cession — eighty regiments — had halted in the 
valley at the foot of this mountain. A few — 
twenty regiments in all — had climbed the side 
of the mountain to the first level, which they 
called the plain ; and a few climbed still higher 
to the second level, which was designated the 
heights. This second level was, I judged, a 
little more than half-way up the mountain. And 
this great mountain was wholly enclosed within 
an immense cavern ! Daylight had never entered 
the place. If it were not for the artificial light 
which was employed on the heights and plain, 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


189 


both these places would be wrapped in darkness 
as impenetrable as that in which the men of the 
valley lived and moved. The illuminating fluid 
which these people used in their lamps gushed 
up in tiny streams from the rocky floor. 

There was one singular thing about the in- 
© © 

habitants of this village that I had not observed 
in the village on the plain below. Every person 
here carried a square-shaped block securely fast- 
ened between the shoulders. The women as 
well as the men were thus burdened. Many of 
them were very old people, and the oldest seemed 
to be the most heavily laden. 

Closer inspection revealed that these square 
blocks were made up of many small pieces of 
yardstick, — the thin flat stone which was used 
throughout the procession as a medium of ex- 
change. 

There was one old woman, with snow-white hair, 
a short distance away, whose burden seemed alto- 
gether too heavy for her. She staggered under 
it a few steps, and then fell heavily near the door 
of a hut. Three men and two women rushed out 
and stood near, watching her. They were, appar- 
ently, in a state of great excitement. They were 


190 tHE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


the old woman’s sons and daughters, but none of 
them offered to assist her to her feet. A moment 
later they were joined by a tall, grave-looking 
man. He begged the fallen woman to give her 
burden to her children, and to turn her thoughts 
away from it, and fix them upon her king. 

" I cannot part with it, indeed I cannot,” she 
wailed ; " it is glued to my poor back. It cannot 
be taken from me without tearing my flesh. Let 
it remain a little longer.” 

"But, my dear sister,” the grave-looking man 
urged, " you must dispose of it ; you cannot carry 
it to the other world. It need not be removed 
until after your spirit has fled ; but you must 
decide how you wish it disposed of, after your 
death. After you have so decided, you will be 
better able to fix your thoughts upon the king.” 

, The old woman rolled her eyes, clinched her 
hands, and writhed and twisted her body in a 
manner that was fearful to behold. 

She was, evidently, in the heat of a fierce men- 
tal struggle . 

After a time she became somewhat calmer. 
She had, in a measure, conquered herself. 

She gazed around upon her sons and daugh- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


191 


ters in silence for several minutes. Finally, rising 
upon one elbow, she motioned to her youngest 
daughter, and signified her intention of leaving 
her entire burden to that young woman. 

The latter’s face flushed with joy, but all the 
others began to clamor vociferously against their 
mother’s decision. 

" Why do you not divide it equally among us? ” 
they cried. " Why leave it all to her? ” 

The old woman looked reproachfully at them, 
but they paid no attention to her. They were 
glaring alternately at the burden and their younger 
sister. 

The dying woman lay upon her right side, her 
face turned toward her children. The grave-look- 
ing man was at her head, bending over her, and 
speaking words of hope and consolation. 

Suddenly the eldest son sprang over his mother’s 
prostrate form, and seized the burden with both 
hands. The grave stranger raised his hands and 
his voice in indignant protest against such con- 
duct. But the excited son did not heed him ; he 
pulled and wrenched the burden with all his 
strength, endeavoring to drag it from his mother’s 
bleeding back. The miserable woman uttered a 


192 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


shriek of agony, and fainted as the burden was 
being torn from her. The inhuman son had se- 
cured the prize, but before he could escape with 
it his brothers and sisters were upon him. The 
hideous burden, with patches of skin and quiver- 
ing flesh still clinging to it, fell between them ; 
and then ensued a struggle of appalling ferocity. 
Hungry wolves maddened by the taste of blood 
never fought more fiercely than did these brothers 
and sisters. 

The burden was finally torn into pieces ; and 
when each had secured a portion, they all turned 
to their mother. 

The stranger had covered her lacerated back, 
and as the others approached he looked up and 
said, — 

"It is over. She is dead.” 

I turned and fled from the place, overcome with 
horror. 

Surely these people were not human. They 
were monsters ! I made my way as rapidly as 
possible toward the plain, preferring to face its 
dangers rather than remain to witness the brutal- 
ity of the monsters who inhabited the heights. I 
hoped to be able to cross the plain and descend 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


193 


to the valley, where I believed I could find Easter 
or some of his followers. 

When I reached the plain I found the street that 
I had traversed when I fled from the chamber. 
I followed it until I discovered another street, 
which diverged to the left. I entered this street, 
and after a brisk walk for upward of an hour I 
caught sight of a high wall directly ahead. "This 
must be the wall which separates the valley from 
the plain,” I thought. " I may yet reach the valley 
in safety.” I hurried on with increased speed, but 
had not proceeded more than a dozen yards when 
I was startled by a slight noise behind me. Turn- 
ing quickly, I beheld a blind guardsman striding 
rapidly and silently after me. I stepped aside, 
and stood to allow him to pass. He approached 
within five feet, stopped, and appeared to be in- 
tently listening. I scarcely breathed, fearing to 
betray my presence. Suddenly I saw his body 
stiffen, and his hand clinch as if he were about to 
spring. The next instant he raised his murderous 
stone bludgeon above his head, and sprang toward 
me. I threw myself down at his feet ; he stum- 
bled over my body, and fell headlong upon the 
rocky floor beyond. I le-aped to my feet and hur- 


194 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


ried to him. The force of the fall had rendered 
him unconscious. I wrenched the weapon from 
his hand, and turned in time to see four other 
blind guardsmen rushing toward me. 

I retreated to the nearest hut, and with my 
back against it, turned to face the enemy. 

They advanced cautiously and noiselessly ; they 
were relying wholly upon their sense of hearing. 

When within ten feet of me I commanded them 
to halt, saying, — 

”1 am armed; I can see, and I shall not sur- 
render.” 

" It is he ! It is Curtis ! ” one of them cried 
exultingly, while another blew his whistle for as- 
sistance. The one who had spoken turned as if 
to walk away ;. but suddenly turning toward me 
again, he hurled his heavy bludgeon at me with 
terrific force. I tried vainly to dodge the blow; 
he had been too quick for me, however, and the 
weapon dealt me a cruel blow on the cheek and 
forehead. I would have fallen but for the sup- 
port of the wall at my back. My senses reeled, 
and I felt on the point of losing consciousness. 

"It ’sail over. Poor Alice!” I moaned, as I 
sank to the floor. For an instant there was a con- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 195 


fused sound of many voices, and clearly above it 
all sounded the robbers’ rallying-cry, " Easter ! 
Easter ! ” 


XIX. 

I was in a dimly lighted room when conscious- 
ness returned, with Hill bending over me. I started 
up to a sitting posture, and gazed wildly around. 
He forced me gently back upon the shell blankets 
which formed my bed, and said, reassuringly, — 

"You are in my den, and for the present, at 
least, safe from pursuit.” 

I quickly collected my thoughts, and recalled 
the terrible scene through which I passed just 
before losing consciousness. 

In answer to my questions, he said, " You were 
brought here by some of Easter’s men ; they had 
heard that I wished to see you, and besides, they 
surmised that you would be safer here than any- 
where else.” 

He asked how I fared since my escape from 
prison, and I related to him some of the scenes I 
had witnessed. 


196 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


"Yes, you are correct,” he said, when I had 
described the brutal affair I had witnessed on the 
heights. " The packs they carry on their backs 
are made of pieces of yardstick, as you call it. 
While in active life their surplus yardstick is 
stored in the temples, but when they retire to 
the heights, to spend the few last years of their 
lives in ease and comfort, they wrap up their 
inches of yardstick into neat bundles, which are 
fastened to their backs, and carried about by 
them the remainder of their lives. These packs 
•make very heavy and troublesome burdens. The 
little pieces of sharp stone often pierce the back 
and shoulders, causing the wearer great pain 
during his waking hours, disturbing his dreams, 
and sometimes rendering sleep well-nigh impossi- 
ble. When a person carries a pack a very long 
time, it adheres so tightly that it cannot be 
removed without causing the wearer great pain. 
It grows to him ; becomes a part of himself, and, 
generally speaking, the chief part. When he 
dies, his heirs fight for the pack. Sometimes it 
is divided among them ; at other times one of the 
heirs secures the whole pack, which he fastens to 
his back, and follows the example of his ances- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


197 


tors. Why they are so eager to thus burden 
themselves and embitter their declining years, 
has never been explained.” 

" There is one thing which appears strange to 
me,” I said. " I have often wondered why the 
majority of the people remain in the dark valley, 
when there is an abundance of light on the 
mountain-side.” 

" The food-bearing stones are all in the valley,” 
he answered. 

" But the stones could be rolled up the moun- 
tain-side.” 

" That is true,” he said, "but it would require 
time and labor. The laborers are already over- 
worked. All their time and all their strength are 
devoted to the task of procuring food and cloth- 
ing. They have neither the time nor the ambi- 
tion for anything else. If they neglect for an 
hour to struggle for sub and shell, they immedi- 
ately starve. Even as it is, they often suffer 
hunger. And yet we all submit, and many pro- 
fess to admire the singular economy which ordains 
that the men who extract all the sub and shell 
that are required by the whole procession, should 
themselves be the only ones who ever go hungry 


198 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEYIL. 

and naked. The procession is rooted here. It 
cannot move forward. The inhabitants of the 
heights and plain get the necessaries of life from 
the valley. The valley is their base of supplies, 
and they dare not withdraw from it beyond a 
certain distance. They cannot advance until the 
dwellers in the valley have moved upward. The 
latter are every year becoming more and more 
firmly anchored in the valley. The crushers are 
being constantly improved, and the operators are 
daily becoming more skilful; consequently, their 
productive power is increasing ; but their pur- 
chasing power does not increase proportionately. 
They do not receive the benefits of improved 
methods. These benefits go to Sourjoint. This 
is why the number of men required at stone- 
breaking does not increase in due proportion, 
while the army of surs is steadily getting larger. 
If the hours of labor were shortened in propor- 
tion to the improvement of methods, there would 
be employment for all the people in the valley, 
and no injustice or injury done to any one by the 
change. It is true, Sourjoint would not have so 
large a pack to carry when he retired to the 
heights, but that would be a benefit rather than 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


199 


an injury to him. He would' still have more 
devil than he needed ; more than he could use 
during his lifetime. The shortening of the hours 
of labor would lead to the abolition of the surs ; 
they would become stone-breakers, and the stone- 
breakers would then have the time and the heart 
to think of something besides mere sub-winning. 
They could devote a certain portion of each turn 
to the task of moving the crushers and the food- 
bearing stones up the mountain-side, where they 
would be able to live, and bring up their children 
in the light. The next generation would not be 
a generation of blind men. When the stone- 
breakers enjoy the blessing of eyesight, and work 
in the bright light of the mountain-side, they will 
be as satisfied as it is possible for unreasonable 
man to be. The overwhelming majority of the 
men in the procession are naturally fitted for 
stone-breaking ; and when that occupation is lifted 
out of the darkness of the valley, and made 
pleasant and profitable, many who now injure 
trade by their presence, or bring ridicule upon 
the professions, would turn to it. They would 
prefer stone-breaking, under favorable conditions, 
to the risks and uncertainties of trade, or to the 


200 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


severe mental toil of professional life. The con- 
gested trades and professions would be relieved, 
and the whole procession would soon be in fine 
marching condition.” 

" There is one thing,” I said, " that has puzzled 
me greatly. I know that I am now accused of 
beins: in league with the robbers. But before 
there was any ground for that charge, I was 
informed that I had incurred the death penalty. 
What crime had I committed?” 

"You had been caught in the act of forcing an 

o o 

entrance to the devil’s temple.” 

"The devil’s temple!’ I exclaimed. "Pray 
explain.” 

He looked at me in surprise, and said, " Is it 
possible that you have not yet heard of the devil ? 
I will enlighten you on that point. On a certain 
occasion the people authorized the general to 
place his stamp on a species of thin, brittle stone, 
and to issue this in certain quantities, to be used 
as a medium of exchange, for the comfort and 
convenience of the whole people. The fools, 
when they saw this medium of exchange, cried 
out, 'This is real wealth; it is less bulky, more 
easily carried, and is not perishable, like gum.’ 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 201 

They called it developed wealth ; after a while 
it was, for brevity’s sake, called ' devel,’ and now 
many call it ' devil.’ Every person who pos- 
sesses more devil than he can use, has a building 
in which he stores the surplus devil until he is 
ready to retire to the heights ; these buildings 
are called temples. You are accused of attempt- 
ing to rob one of these temples. It is a great 
crime ; the penalty is death.’ 

During the conversation I had risen to a sitting 
posture. There was a dull pain in my head, but 
otherwise I suffered no evil results from my 
recent adventure. I was sitting on the edge of 
the bed, pondering over the strange story Hill 
had related, when I became conscious of a slight 
noise behind me, but before I could turn, a cord 
was thrown over my head and shoulders. I 
sprang to my feet, but the cord had slipped 
down and was drawn tightly about me, pinioning 
my arms to my body. Hart was at my side ; he 
had entered unperceived, and now held me a 
bound and helpless prisoner. 

"Ah, Curtis,” he said, "you are a slippery 
fellow, but I think I ’ll manage to hold you this 
time.” 


202 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


"How dare you enter my den, and lay violent 
hands upon a guest of mine?” Hill angrily de- 
manded, advancing toward us. "Release him, 
this instant.” 

" He is charged with a capital offence,” the 
guardsman slowly answered, "and it is my duty 
to seize him at the first opportunity. I would 
arrest him, if I found him a guest at the general’s 
table.” 

Hill seemed to realize his helplessness, and, 
after an awkward pause, he said, " But surely it 
is not necessary to keep him bound in that out- 
rageous manner.” 

"It is safer,” Hart answered, doggedly. 

" Safer,” Hill scornfully repeated ; " are you 
afraid of an unarmed prisoner?” 

" I confess to having very little confidence in 
my own ability, after what has recently befallen 
me,” replied the guardsman. 

" Why ? Have you been outwitted ? ” 

"Yes; most shamefully, and by women.” 

Hill laughed sarcastically, and asked, " Why 
did n’t you resign ? ” 

" Because I was consoled by the knowledge 
that a wiser man than I had made a much greater 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 203 


mistake, under somewhat similar circumstances. 
I was seized with a desire for promotion, and 
knowing that there was a certain woman in the 
valley whose arrest would bring me promotion, I 
determined to hunt her down. I soon discovered, 
however, that I had undertaken a difficult task. 
She had the power, or seemed to have, of being 
in two different places at one and the same time. 
I became bewildered and discouraged, and finally 
gave it up in despair. It was then that I dis- 
covered that I had been pursuing two women, 
instead of one. They are sisters, and so far as 
the ear can detect, are exactly alike ; and Mother 
Russell informs me that to the eye the resem- 
blance appears even more marvellous. ” 

" Nonsense ! ” cried Hill, impatiently ; "no two 
persons are exactly alike to eye or ear. Your 
ears must be very dull ; and I am more convinced 
than ever that you should resign immediately.” 

For some reason or other Hill seemed desirous 
of rousing Hart’s anger. But it was not an easy 
matter. The guardsman bore his taunts without 
betraying a sign of anger. 

"I was on the point of resigning my position,” 
began the guardsman, " when Mother Russell told 

£3 0 7 


204 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


me how a very wise man made a great fool of 
himself several years ago. He was about to 
become the husband of one of these women. Her 
sister had been absent for a long time, — she 
had eloped with an outlaw, — and he did not know 
of the sister’s existence. 

"On a certain occasion, he met the latter in 
company with her husband, and he supposed that 
it was his promised bride whom he beheld cling- 
ing to the arm of a strange man, and without 
seeking, or waiting for an explanation, he fled to 
the valley and hid himself. For the past ten 
years he has been groping at one end of the 
valley, and she at the other, each sighing for the 
other, and yet neither having wit enough to com- 
prehend and remove the misunderstanding.” 

Hill had taken a step forward ; his face was 
pale, and his eyes were fixed on the guardsman 
with a look of singular earnestness. The latter 
proceeded , — 

" When I undertook to hunt down Easter’s wife, 
I did not know that she had a sister who resem — ” 

"’Tis false ! ” Hill cried, vehemently, springing 
forward, his hands clinched threateningly. 

"’Tis true, Hill!” I exclaimed. "I have seen 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


265 


the two sisters together.” He stopped and turned 
his white face toward me, while his frame shook 
violently. 

"I shall be led to execution in a few hours, at 
the most,” I continued, "and I have no object in 
deceiving you. Mother Russell related the story 
to my wife, and I have seen the two sisters.” 

He sank down, dropped his head upon the 
table, and groaned aloud, — 

"Why did not Mother Russell tell me this?” 
he finally asked, in a choking voice. 

"Because,” Hart replied, "she did not wish to 
drive you away. They who knew the secret also 
knew that you would not permit any mention of 
the affair in your presence. It was known that 
you had vowed never to be seen the second time 
in any place in which the name of Dudley had 
been spoken.” 

"True, true,” he groaned, his head still bowed ; 
"fool that I was. Selfish, miserable fool !” 

" The wisest men are often the greatest of fools 
in their own affairs,” Hart said, in an undertone. 

Then taking me by the arm, he added, — 

"We must be off now ; and must hasten, or we 
shall be late at the court-yard.” 


206 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL* 


XX. 

Hart led me out into the darkness, and for 
nearly two hours we walked on, side by side, in 
silence. 

At the end of that time we reached the wall, 
and passing through to the plain, proceeded 
rapidly along the broad street that led toward the 
chamber. After a few minutes Hart turned 
abruptly to the right, and led me to a low stone 
building, through its arched entrance and into a 
large room or hall. 

There were a score of men lounging about, 
guardsmen and others. I perceived two raised 
seats at the other end of the hall, and near them 
was a small enclosure. Hart conducted me 
toward this enclosure, but before we had advanced 
a dozen steps an old man turned away from a 
group of guardsmen with whom he had been 
conversing, and approached us. It was Sour- 
joint. But how changed ! He appeared twenty 
years older than when I saw him last, a few 
hours before. His face had sharpened visibly, as 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


207 


if he had suffered much ; his form was bent, and 
he tottered as he came toward us. 

" A hundred thousand inches lost ! ” he ex- * 
claimed, clasping his hands in great distress. "A 
hundred thousand inches ; and we never suspected 
him ! Nobody suspected him ! ” 

" Leete is outside ; he desires to speak to 
you,” Hart said, as he brushed by the old man 
with some rudeness. As he led me toward the 
enclosure, he added, " The old idiot has just 
discovered that he has been robbed, and his heart 
is broken.” 

Having placed me within the enclosure, with a 
guardsman on either side, Hart left me, and hastened 
to join the throng at the other end of the hall. 

At that moment I perceived Hill and Leete 
enter together. Sourjoint hastened to meet them, 
wringing his hands and moaning piteously. 

Hill seated himself among the spectators ; but 
Leete remained standing, surrounded by a number 
of guardsmen, while Sourjoint moved restlessly 
about, telling his sorrowful story to whoever 
would listen. His shrill voice pierced even to 
the farthest corners of the hall. " A hundred 
thousand inches ! A hundred thousand.” 


208 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


There was a slight commotion at the entrance, 
and the next instant a distinguished-looking man 
entered, with a woman leaning on his arm. The 
guardsmen quickly cleared a passage for the 
strangers, and they were ushered to seats that had 
been reserved for distinguished visitors. 

" That is the great man who has just settled on 
the heights,” the guardsman on my left whispered 
to his companion. 

"He is very rich, I hear,” the other answered, 
" and he is a great addition to the heights. It is 
said that his taxes alone will amount to fifty 
thousand inches a year, which will be a great 
addition to the public treasury.” 

My eyes had been fastened on the strangers 
from the moment of their entrance. In spite of 
their changed appearance, I had recognized them 
at a glance. It was Easter and his wife. Sour- 
joint came and stood before them, and seemed to 
be relating the story of the robbery of which he 
was the victim ; and I judged from some words 
that reached me that Easter was horrified at the 
recital. His wife clasped her hands and rolled 
her eyes heavenward, apparently greatly shocked 
by this revelation of the wickedness of man. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 209 


The judge entered just then by a side entrance. 
I knew it was the judge, because he took his place 
on the nearer of the two raised seats. 

A moment afterward the little knot of guards- 
men near the main entrance parted, and a small 
old man walked hurriedly in. His hair was 
white, and a close-cropped white beard covered 
his face ; he looked neither to the right nor left, 
but strode quickly to the raised seat, at the other 
side of the judge’s seat. It was Little. The 
hush that instantly fell upon the large audience 
was sufficient evidence that this was the prosecu- 
tor himself. Leete had stepped out from among 
the guardsmen, and was now pacing up and down 
beside Little’s seat. He was evidently laboring 
under some excitement. I observed that his 
heavy stone bludgeon no longer hung suspended 
from his wrist ; it was firmly held in his right hand. 

The judge glanced at Little, and the latter 
nodded affirmatively. Then the judge arose, and 
in solemn tones announced the court formally 
opened. 

While the judge’s last words were still sound- 
ing through the hall, and before he had resumed 
his seat, Leete stepped quickly to the prosecu- 


210 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


tor’s side, and placing a hand on his shoulder 
said, in his usual quiet, firm voice, " You are my 
prisoner.” 

" Your prisoner ! ” gasped Little. He quickly 
recovered himself, however, and in a loud voice 
demanded, " Your prisoner, man! For what? 
Who is my accuser ? ” 

" I am ! ” Sourjoint screamed, in his shrillest 
tone. " You villanous hyp — ” 

" Silence ! ” thundered Leete. " Remove that 
man!” 

Two guardsmen sprang forward, seized Sour- 
joint, and bore him struggling toward the door. 
When the audience turned from Sourjoint to 
Little again, it was frozen rigid with horror by 
the spectacle ‘presented. 

Leete still stood near his prisoner, his sightless 
eyes turned toward the door, from whence came 
the sound of Sourjoint’s shrill voice. 

Little, taking advantage of the situation, had 
drawn a guardsman’s heavy bludgeon, which he 
carried concealed about his person ; he had 
raised the weapon above his head, and in another 
instant it would descend, with crushing force, on 
the head of the blind guardsman. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


211 


I could not cry out ; I could not even shut my 
eyes upon the dreadful spectacle. 

Then, just when the blow seemed inevitable, 
the hand that held the weapon fell to its owner’s 
side, and the old man, his face distorted by 
passion, frenzy, and disappointment, staggered 
forward, reeled, and fell to the floor. 

The audience that for five seconds had not 
breathed, now gave vent to a mighty sigh of 
relief. 

"Come, Curtis, you’re free,” cried Hart, who 
had approached unobserved by me. I stared at 
him in astonishment. 

"Come, come, man; what ails you?” he 
asked, dragging me from the enclosure, and 
toward a side door. 

" You have escaped on a technicality,” he ex- 
plained, as we proceeded. "Nothing like a tech- 
nicality. If it had been known before court 
opened that Little was a criminal, the court 
would not have convened ; you would have been 
remanded, and held until you could be brought 
before his successor. But one of the officials being 
arrested while courtis in session, renders the court 
irregular, and disposes of the business in hand. 


212 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


The indictment against you is quashed, because 
you were brought before an irregular court. If 
you had been tried and acquitted, the prosecution 
could have appealed the case, and held you in the 
toils for months. But you have escaped on a 
technicality, and there ’s no appeal from a techni- 
cality. It is always better to rely on a technical- 
ity than upon your innocence.” 

We passed through the side door, and entered 
a small, well-furnished room. The floor was car- 
peted with shell, the walls were also covered with 
it, and the floor was thickly strewn with seats and 
couches of the same soft material. 

Hill was pacing the floor excitedly. He ad- 
vanced to meet me, and shook my hand warmly, 
saying, " They are on the way ; your wife and 
my adorable Ella. They are expected every 
moment. It seems an age since I was informed 
that they, that she, had begun the journey from 
the valley. I have waited ten years, and thought 
myself resigned to my fate ; but to wait that 
number of hours now would drive me mad. I 
can hardly contain myself.” 

He turned, and strode up and down the room 
in a fever of impatience. 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


213 


Easter and his wife had entered, and stood a 
little distance away, conversing earnestly in low 
tones. After a time Easter approached and asked 
Hill to grant him an interview. They left the 
room together. Sister Easter followed them out, 
and Hart also took his departure. 

Left alone, I sank upon the nearest seat, and 
pondered upon what had happened to me since 
my advent to this strange place. 

I must have remained in thought for half an 
hour, and doubtless would have remained longer 
but for the entrance of Hart. He came in 
hurriedly, and seemed greatly excited. 

" Hill is preparing to return to the valley and 
to his old life ! ” he exclaimed. 

I started to my feet in amazement, as he con- 
tinued, " He has discovered a rival for Sister 
Dudley’s hand : one who has a better claim upon 
her, because it was he who enabled her and her 
father to escape to the valley ; and during the 
years they have spent there he stood between 
them and Liftle’s vengeance. It is he who has 
accomplished the downfall of Little and the 
restoration to the Dudleys of all their former 
possessions. When this was revealed to Hill, — 


214 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 

and the Easters were not slow to reveal it ; they 
prefer the strong, active Leete to Hill, the slow 
dreamer, — he decided at once to return to the 
valley.” 

Poor Hill ! An hour before I had seen him in 
a transport of joy, and now he is again sunk 
in the depths of misery. 

I was so overcome that I did not observe the 
entrance of my wife, accompanied by the Dud- 
leys. She approached, and flung her arms about 
my neck before I became aware of her presence. 

When the first joys of our meeting were over, 
and I had exchanged greetings with Sister Dudley 
and her father, I perceived that Leete, in com- 
pany with the Easters and two others, who 
appeared to be persons of great authority, had 
entered the room. The Dudleys hastened to 
him, and poured forth their gratitude for the 
great services he had done them. 

My wife and I stood a little apart, and in a low 
tone I related to her the latest tidings regarding 

^ O O O 

Hill. We were still discussing the matter when 
a great noise was heard just outside the entrance 
that communicated with the court-room. The 
next instant Sourjoint rushed into the room, hold- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


215 


in g a large lamp, upturned in his hands, and from 
which the burning fluid was rapidly pouring. 
His garments were in a blaze, and he danced 
about and shrieked and laughed a blood-chilling, 
unearthly laugh, " A hundred thousand inches ! 
Ha, ha, ha, ha ! ” 

The burning fluid spread with amazing rapidity, 
igniting the carpet, the furniture, and the wall- 
hangings. We were all threatened with a horri- 
ble death, and for an instant all were paralyzed. 
But it w T as for an instant only. With a bound, 
Leete was upon the maniac, bore him down, and, 
wrapped in flames, the two rolled and struggled 
upon the floor. Easter was the first to recover. 
The giant seized the struggling men, dragged 
them from the midst of the flames, and wrapped 
them in blankets from the nearest couch. They 
had ceased to struggle, and guardsmen, who had 
entered in pursuit of Sourjoint, were extinguish- 
ing the flames which had already spread far into 
the room, when Alice clutched my arm for sup- 
port. I laid her upon a couch, and knowing that 
the danger was over, gave her all my attention. 
When she was somewhat recovered, I turned 
to the other occupants of the room. Leete and 


216 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


Sourjoint had been separated', and now lay side 
by side on the floor. Dr. Gilbert was bending 
over the former. Easter was standing at the 
opposite side of the little circle that had formed 
about the physician and his patients. The giant’s 
arms were folded on his breast, and his eyes were 
fixed on the scene beneath him ; his wife stood at 
his side, and next to her were the two officials. 
Ella had sunk into a seat, and buried her face in 
her hands. Her father stood behind the doctor, and 
nearest to me. The old man trembled violently. 

"Well?” he said, anxiously, as the doctor rose 
from a stooping posture. 

"He is dead,” the latter replied, in his calm, 
professional tone. 

The air was still heavy with smoke, and I 
assisted Alice out of the small room into the large 
hall or court-room beyond. 

The court-room was empty. I helped Alice to 
a seat, and a moment later I heard voices, and 
footsteps approaching. I turned toward the 
main entrance, and perceived Hill and another 
enter from the court-yard. I judged from their 
conversation that Hill’s companion was a lawyer 
into whose care Hill was about to place his pos- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


217 


sessions, prior to his return to the valley and a 
life of seclusion. 

I requested Hill to grant me a moment’s inter- 
view. He shook his head negatively, and was 
about to pass on, when catching sight of Alice 
reclining on the seat beside me, he approached 
and greeted her warmly. Turning to me, he 
said, with apparent impatience, "You have heard 
of my decision to return to the valley, and you will 
attempt to dissuade me. I shall esteem it a great 
favor if you refrain from mentioning the matter.” 

" But, surely,” I said, " you ought to remain 
with us long enough to pay the last tribute of 
respect to one who has proven a faithful friend to 
those you hold dear.” 

" What do you mean? ” he cried. 

I related what had transpired, and described 
the awful scene we had witnessed. 

When I described the manner of Leete’s death, 
he sank into a seat and covered his face. 

" His whole life was a succession of sacrifices 
for his friends. He ought to have been spared 
this final sacrifice,” he said, at last; and then he 
continued, " There is one consolation : he was 
happy during the last few hours of his life. He 


218 THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


was confident that he had w’on her at last. And 
thank Heaven ! I did not assert my claims, and 
thus darken the only few bright hours that the 
noble fellow had ever known. But, come; we 
must repair to my home on the plain. It has 
been made ready for occupancy. You must be 
my guests for the present.” 

Alice looked at me beseechingly. " Oh, John ! ” 
she exclaimed, " let us not stay here. There 
must be an outlet from this horrible cavern. We 
must find it, and return to our friends.” 

Hill sprang to his feet, and gazing sternly at 
her, cried, "Ah, the same blind selfishness which 
condemns the procession to remain with eighty 
out of the hundred regiments groping blindly in 
the darkness and misery of the valley. If the 
surs would consent to stand up together, — not to 
rob and destroy ; why should they destroy their 
own? — attention would be attracted, and some- 
thing done for them. And if the thousands in 
the valley of the surs and the tens of thousands at 
the crushers would unite in one mighty protest, 
the attention of the selfish few would be drawn to 
them. The few eyes in the procession would be 
focused upon the blind masses and their condi- 


THE BLIND MEN AND THE DEVIL. 


219 


tion, and a remedy would soon be found. But, 
no ! the surs know that every month a vacancy 
occurs at the crushers, and each of the thousands 
of surs hopes that he will be the lucky one to 
secure it. And the men at the crushers know 
that every year a few climb to the plain, and 
each of the tens of thousands hopes that he will 
be the lucky climber next year. And now, you 
who have eyes and have seen the blind men 
groping in the darkness of the valley, will desert 
them, without lifting a hand in their behalf ! They 
appeal to you for help. Their nakedness and the 
hunger in their faces and in the faces of their 
children appeal to you, not for charity but for 
justice. How will the king receive those who 
have eyes, and yet selfishly refuse to see the 
tremendous injustice? e They asked bread, and 
you gave them stones/ ” 

Alice laid her head upon my breast, and whis- 
pered, " Dear John, perhaps this unhappy proces- 
sion was revealed to us that we might in our 
humble way aid it in climbing this mountain of 
misery. Let us stay.” 


THE END. 



































































































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